FIVE THINGS ABOUT ELEPHANT CONTROL

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FOUR-STAGE PROCESS To prevent crop-raiding by elephants in northern Tanzania, Damian Bell’s team with a non-profit called Honey-guide has developed a four-stage process that, improbably, involves condoms. It starts with a high-powered flashlight, which often scares elephants attempting a night raid.

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SENSORY OVERLOAD If that doesn’t work, Bell and community volunteers wield a loud foghorn that seems to confuse the elephants, or fill condoms with chili powder and a firecracker, then throw them near belligerent animals. The spice can affect the elephants’ sense of smell, and the loud bangs frighten them.

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THE BIG GUNS Elephants that have withstood those three stages get treated to a larger firework called a Roman candle, which Bell’s crew sets off about 25 metres away from the animal. Bell said that almost always does the trick.

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AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS The animals have excellent memories, so once they’ve experienced the chili bombs or Roman candles, the flashlight is usually enough to ward them off in future raids, Bell said. Previous research in Africa had showed that putting beehives on posts around crops can keep the massive animals away. So Australian researcher Evan Bittner used a speaker system connected to a laptop to play the buzz of Sri Lankan hornets, directed at elephants about 15 metres away.

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THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD But when it came to repelling male elephants, which do almost all the crop raiding, the most effective sounds were the calls of other elephants — females, in particular. Bittner found that broadcasting females’ calls kept 65 per cent of males away from crops. Only the biggest, baddest elephants didn’t react, he said.