Samenvatting

A major concern for wildlife management and rural development initiatives across Africa are conflicts between elephants and people. In most African regions, wilderness is fenceless and elephants move outside of protected areas. Long-term effects of this include negative attitudes of local people towards elephants, because these elephants can threaten their livelihoods. This can lead to elephant kills, snaring and poaching, to compensate or seek revenge for the damage that the elephants have caused. In 2011, the Southern Tanzania Elephant Project (STEP) established in collaboration with the Njokomoni Farmers Group, 500 meters of beehive fencing, intended to reduce crop-raiding by elephants. Before extending the existing fence along the border of the Udzungwa Mountain National Park (and thereby spending time and money), it is important to understand the effect the fence has on the extent of crop damage and frequency of elephant raiding behavior. The goal of this study was therefore to evaluate the effectiveness of the beehive fence.