Western Ghats’ tribal villages install beehives to ward off wild elephants

Coimbatore: To save you crop injury by means of elephants and create industry opportunities, scientists from the Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) have passed over 90 honeybee hives to a few tribal villages in the Western Ghats.
People in tribal villages comparable to Palamalai and Vellamari, near Anaikatti, were suffering to care for crop injury by means of elephants.

After notifying the woodland division, scientists from SBI’s extension division gave 40 honeybee hives to Mottiyur and Pasumani Pudur in Palamalai in mid-March and 50 honeybee hives to a few villages in Vellamari, near Anaikatti, final month.

“When we visited those villages final yr as part of our tribal outreach programme, we discovered that the villagers have been frightened about their livelihood because the elephants steadily destroyed their cultivation,” stated C Jayabose, one of the most scientists from SBI working on the tribal sub-plan.

“Soon, we spotted that there were numerous wild sweet-smelling flora like Pavetta Indica growing of their area. So, we concept to cultivate honey by means of breeding honey bees. Elephants fear bees’ piping. The mammals don’t enter the cultivation area when they pay attention the sound,” he stated, adding that the villagers can also become profitable by means of extracting honey and promoting them.

SBI’s director Bakshi Ram approved the plan after the investment for the yr 2017-18 arrived.

“We then ordered honeybee hives from a cultivator in Erode,” stated Rajula Shanthy, the scientist who heads the institute’s outreach activities.

“It is necessary to transport the hives best right through the night because bees are night-blind and will not check out escaping the hive. The bugs are sensitive to change in surroundings,” stated Shanthy.

As the villagers successfully shooed away elephants with the assistance of beehives in Palamalai, the scientists made up our minds to set beehives in Vellamsari too.


“Usually in Palamalai, no less than three or 4 elephants appear in a month right through the summer time. However, this yr, we didn’t have this kind of complaints,” a woodland ranger in Periyanaickenpalayam stated.


“As a subsequent step, we are planning to travel to Palamalai this week or subsequent week to teach them find out how to acquire honey with out harmful the honeycombs,” Jayabose added.


Bakshi Ram stated the honey extracted from those hives could be valuable in the market because they acquire nectar from the numerous wild flora in the tribal villages inside the forests.


Western Ghats’ tribal villages install beehives to ward off wild elephants Western Ghats’ tribal villages install beehives to ward off wild elephants Reviewed by Kailash on June 06, 2018 Rating: 5
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