Ideas change everything

How bees can keep the peace between elephants and humans

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Lucy King |

TEDWomen 2019

• December 2019

Imagine waking in the middle of the night to an elephant ripping the roof from your house in search of food. This is a reality in some communities in Africa where, as wild spaces shrink, people and elephants are competing for space and resources like never before. In this engaging talk, zoologist Lucy King shares her solution to the rising conflict: fences made from beehives that keep elephants at bay while also helping farmers establish new livelihoods.

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Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Imagine waking in the middle of the night to an elephant ripping the roof from your house in search of food. This is a reality in some communities in Africa where, as wild spaces shrink, people and elephants are competing for space and resources like never before. In this engaging talk, zoologist Lucy King shares her solution to the rising conflict: fences made from beehives that keep elephants at bay while also helping farmers establish new livelihoods.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Sponsor a rural farmer with a beehive fence to help reduce conflict with elephants.

About the speaker

Human-elephant ambassador

See speaker profile

Zoologist Dr. Lucy King helms the Human-Elephant Coexistence Program for the Kenyan research charity Save the Elephants.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.

Sponsor a rural farmer with a beehive fence to help reduce conflict with elephants.