<p>Residents of a village in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district have found unique allies to keep wild elephants away from their homes and crops. It’s bees.</p>.<p>Nurpur village is in close proximity to the Buxa Tiger Reserve and has always been a target of wild jumbos who frequently enter and destroy the livelihood of the villagers. The elephants destroyed their crops, homes and often caused human fatalities. Villagers even stopped coming outside their houses at night in fear of getting attacked by elephants.</p>.<p>About a year ago, a large number of villagers started migrating to other places in search of livelihood.</p>.<p>But then a local NGO, Saontalpur Nagorik Adhikar Surokha Welfare Society, along with wildlife experts suggested that every household in the village start beekeeping. With about 33 acres of land being used for mustard cultivation in the village, the bees found a suitable condition and started to flourish.</p>.<p>Locals said that within months of the bees settling in, elephants started to avoid the village. Not only did the bees keep wild elephants away but the residents started collecting about 20 liters of honey per month from each beehive.</p>.<p>Saontalpur Nagorik Adhikar Surokha Welfare Society Secretary Sadananda Chakrabarti said that the villagers had been miserable due to frequent elephant attacks.</p>.<p>“Then we started consulting experts and suggested the villagers to start beekeeping. Now there has been no elephant attack for about a year. Agriculture and production of fruits have increased significantly. Even during the pandemic, the villagers are able to sustain themselves,” said Chakrabarti. </p>.<p>Praising the initiative, Ujjwal Ghosh, Chief Conservator of Forest of North Bengal said, “Elephants are extremely smart animals. Research has shown that they prefer to stay away from bees due to their sting and noise. Since elephants have not entered the village for about a year it seems that the initiative has worked. But we need to observe for about another year to be sure,” said Ghosh.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
<p>Residents of a village in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district have found unique allies to keep wild elephants away from their homes and crops. It’s bees.</p>.<p>Nurpur village is in close proximity to the Buxa Tiger Reserve and has always been a target of wild jumbos who frequently enter and destroy the livelihood of the villagers. The elephants destroyed their crops, homes and often caused human fatalities. Villagers even stopped coming outside their houses at night in fear of getting attacked by elephants.</p>.<p>About a year ago, a large number of villagers started migrating to other places in search of livelihood.</p>.<p>But then a local NGO, Saontalpur Nagorik Adhikar Surokha Welfare Society, along with wildlife experts suggested that every household in the village start beekeeping. With about 33 acres of land being used for mustard cultivation in the village, the bees found a suitable condition and started to flourish.</p>.<p>Locals said that within months of the bees settling in, elephants started to avoid the village. Not only did the bees keep wild elephants away but the residents started collecting about 20 liters of honey per month from each beehive.</p>.<p>Saontalpur Nagorik Adhikar Surokha Welfare Society Secretary Sadananda Chakrabarti said that the villagers had been miserable due to frequent elephant attacks.</p>.<p>“Then we started consulting experts and suggested the villagers to start beekeeping. Now there has been no elephant attack for about a year. Agriculture and production of fruits have increased significantly. Even during the pandemic, the villagers are able to sustain themselves,” said Chakrabarti. </p>.<p>Praising the initiative, Ujjwal Ghosh, Chief Conservator of Forest of North Bengal said, “Elephants are extremely smart animals. Research has shown that they prefer to stay away from bees due to their sting and noise. Since elephants have not entered the village for about a year it seems that the initiative has worked. But we need to observe for about another year to be sure,” said Ghosh.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
