Written by international Master’s student Abi Johnson During my time as an intern with the Elephants and Bee Project (EBP) in 2016, I became aware of the fact that honey badger predation of hives often makes the beehive fences less effective. EBP is and has been using metal sheeting on the hive posts to prevent honey badger attacks on hives with some success.   Yet, often the honey badger was…

Report written by Lydia Tiller, Research and Science Manager HEC Program Photos by Naiya Raja, Elephants and Bees Research Center Co-ordinator, Tsavo Over a period of five days, a team of specialist vets, pilots, drivers, capture rangers and elephant researchers travelled more than 1,300 km across the Tsavo Conservation Area, Kenya, to collar 20 ‘at risk’ elephants. This epic and important operation was a collaborative effort between Kenya Wildlife Service…

Report written by Sri Lankan Intern, Ramona Stephen I still can recall the uncertainty I carried on my shoulders along with my belongings in a rucksack when I first came to Wasgamuwa. It hadn’t even been a year since I left California, and was just getting used to the perks and comforts of being at home. It was during my short tenure at the Women’s Development Center (WDC), where I…

Report written by International Intern, Rachel Dickson Upon my arrival to the Elephants and Bees Research Center in late October, I was very skeptical that I would be able to carry out the flowering plant project that I had come to accomplish. The reason was simple: there were no flowers. The red Tsavo soil was decorated in dried up bushes and scattered with skeletons of trees. There were no sounds…

Report by International Intern, Ewan Brennan Community-based conservation projects – protecting wildlife while improving the livelihoods of local people – can be one of those rare, truly win-win situations where both local communities and wildlife enjoy the benefits. Before I arrived at the Elephants & Bees Project, I figured protection of crops from raiding elephants and additional income from honey production would make for pretty great community benefits. Being virtually…

(Above image: Myself at the permaculture course – getting my hands dirty!) Report written by Kenyan Student, Kennedy Lemaiyan How about growing food in an organic manner, caring for the environment, sustainably feeding school kids, and equipping local farmers to put more food on their tables? Kileva East Field primary school permaculture garden was initiated by the Elephants and Bees Project in late 2015. The farm was initially a research…

Report written by International Intern, Ben Kelly The 8th grade students at Kileva Primary School have had their hands full towards the end of the year with their KCPE exams, a stressful time for Kenyan primary school students across the country – so what better way to reward our hard-working students than with a school excursion to Wildlife Works, our local wildlife sanctuary. The day began with students, teachers and…

Report written by International Intern, Ewan Brennen.  After more than two weeks with no reports of elephant visits to the farms, during breakfast we received a call from Wabongo, one of our longest standing Beehive Fence farmers, who explained a single bull had crossed his land the previous evening. The morning was cool and cloudy with some light showers, excellent weather for tracking for hours through the bush. Upon arriving…

Blog written by Cara Oldenburg Global March for Elephants, Lions & Rhino – Nairobi The Global March for Elephants Rhino & Lion’s took place on the 7th October.  The purpose of the March is to generate global awareness of the poaching crisis threatening the existence of elephants and rhino, and to stop the trafficking of ivory, rhino horn and wildlife trophies.  It is an occasion for all those against the killing…

Report by International Intern, Zara Ahmed Soon after my arrival at the Elephants and Bees camp, our team climbed into our Land Cruiser and drove down to Mwambiti Village. Nashon, a Mwambiti farmer and Elephants and Bees member of staff, had sighted two bull elephants passing by his farm the previous afternoon and had called us to track them while their prints were still relatively fresh. I was thrilled—what an exciting…