Bees make elephants buzz off

INDIAN farmers are getting a buzz from their new way of stopping elephants trampling their crops.

They usually rely on electric fences which are expensive and can kill the animals. The elephants have also learned to pull trees on to the fences to break them.

However, bees terrify them and the sound of the insects scare them off, so now the Wildlife Research Conservation Society has shown farmers how to make special beehives out of logs. If elephants get too close, the hive swings open, releasing the bees.

Crop damage has dropped and farmers now have honey to sell.