Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Feb 21: Villages all over the state who reside near the forests face the problem of wild animals, pests etc which destroy their crops. The fields visited by the elephants lay in ruins when the pachyderms go away. Even though the government has been taking scientific measures including modern methods, they have not been very successful. Therefore, the department is assessing the effectiveness of an old system known as honeybee fencing, one of the older systems of protecting crops.

The method has been largely successful in Bandipur and Nagarahole areas, as also some areas of Uttara Kannada district. As the elephants are extremely wary of honeybees, the bee fencing can force them to backtrack. The forest department wants to recommend this method, which has been successful in Maharashtra, to the government as it is cost-effective.

In places like Sullia, Kadaba and Beltangady, the forest department is trying to thwart the march of the wild animals through methods like solar fencing, hanging fence, elephant moats etc. A modern method which sensors identify the advancing of animals to the human habitats with the help of modern equipment and they force the animals to go back by making strange sounds. But this method has not been very successful.

The advantage of honey fencing is that they are easy to procure and preserve, the pollination process becomes faster, and the farmers get fresh honey.