Many elephants who live in the Campo Ma’an National Park in Cameroon pass through villages and eat the fruits in the tree plantations established by the local native Bagyeli Pygmy communities who live all along the park’s limits. This has created many conflicts between humans and elephants. As part of its conservation project at the Campo Ma’an National Park the Zoo de Granby and and Concordia University had the idea of replicating our experiment carried out in Kenya and installing beehives to circumvent the elephants’ route away from the villages and ultimately, help them to escape poachers. The hives offer honey for the community, and the bees ensure that the plantations are protected, plus they will pollinate the fruit trees.

Forty five hives have been installed so far in two populated zones where elephants are also present. The first few liters of honey were gathered and given to the village’s chief and one of the plantation’s owners. Mead and candles were made with the honey and wax.

Photos by Valerie Michel, Patrick Paré /Zoo de Granby and Isaac Blaise/Concordia University