Elephant-proof farming ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Hello. This is Six Minute English from BBC

Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Beth.

Maybe the only good thing about covid

lockdowns was the return of wildlife

to our towns and cities. Birds, foxes and deer were seen in the streets

close to people's homes.

Of course, rubbing shoulders with animals, spending time with them,

is amazing, but imagine a hungry African elephant stumbling

into your garden and eating your prize vegetables.

How would you stop it?

It sounds unlikely,

but that's exactly the problem faced by farmers in Africa.

Yes, as human populations increase, while natural habitats decline,

people and animals are increasingly being forced to compete

for space. Wild animals can endanger humans

when they break into their farms for food or water

and people might be forced to attack or even kill these animals

to defend their homes.

This situation, known as 'human-wildlife conflict' is becoming more frequent,

but in this programme, we'll be hearing about ingenious farmers in Kenya

who are keeping their food safe from hungry wild animals and as usual,

we will be learning some useful new vocabulary.

But first, I have a question for you, Beth.

Weighing around six tonnes a fully grown African elephant needs to eat a lot

every day. But how much exactly? Is it:

a) 50 kilograms of food per day? b) 100 kilograms of food per day?

or c) 150 kilograms of food per day?

Hmm, I'll guess an elephant eats 150 kilos of food a day.

OK Beth,

we'll find out if that is the right answer at the end of the programme.

Victor Ndombi is food security officer for the wildlife charity

'Save the Elephants'.

Victor works at Tsavo National Park in Kenya, where he's often faced

with wild elephants breaking into farms for food and water.

Here's Victor explaining more to Michael Kaloki, reporter for BBC

World Service Programme 'People Fixing the World'.

The conflict usually varies. What we experience here

is during the crop season, that is the rainy season,

that's where we usually have the crop raids. The elephants usually

come here - lots of them and they crop raid on the crops.

Can I ask you, Victor, where do these elephants come from?

So, they come from those private ranches, national parks and they come

to this community. They are looking for where there is green pasture,

so they come to this community where we have these nutritious foods.

You know elephants

love maize, beans and that is the crop that farmers

actually farm, so they come and eat those crops here,

and also looking for water.

Victor sounds very calm about this,

it's just a way of life for the people out here.

But elephants do spell big trouble for farmers. A fully grown

male elephant can weigh the same as six cars on top of each other.

It's easy to see how they can destroy crops and livelihoods.

Victor works in a national park,

a large area of land which is protected by the government

because of its natural beauty, plants or animals.

He explains that the elephants raid crops like maize and beans from farmers

in the park. 'To raid' means to suddenly attack a place and steal from it.

These crop raids have become more frequent

because elephants are desperate to find water, and because

the park lacks money to fix broken fences, which keep wild animals out.

Victor says the raids have become a way of life

an activity that has become a regular thing in people's lives

rather than something that happens only occasionally.

That's no problem

if it's a fox in your rubbish bin, but African elephants are as big

as six cars on top of each other.

And this spells trouble for the farmers.

If something spells trouble,

It suggests that there may be problems in the future.

Fortunately, there's an unusual solution that has got

people buzzing: bees. Ancient Kenyan folklore says

that elephants are scared of bees.

That's right - elephants,

the world's biggest land mammal are scared of an insect

the size of your thumbnail!

Victor's team install beehive fences to protect farmers' crops.

Real bees work best, but even a recording

of bees angrily buzzing is enough to keep the elephants away. Better yet,

the bees also pollinate plants and even produce honey.

It's good news for the farmer,

but I have to feel a little sorry for the elephants.

Yes, especially because they need to eat so much.

I think it's time to reveal the answer to my question, Beth.

You asked me how much food

an elephant eats per day and I guessed it was

150 kilogrammes.

That was the correct answer!

Well done! A fully-grown African elephant

needs 150 kilograms of food per day.

OK, let's recap the rest of the vocabulary

we have learned in this programme about 'human-wildlife conflict'

- a phrase describing harmful encounters between humans and wild animals.

If you 'rub shoulders' with someone, you meet them

and spend time together.

'To raid' means 'to suddenly attack' a place

and steal something.

A 'national park' is a large area

of a country which is protected by the government

because of its natural beauty, plants or animals.

If you describe an activity as 'a way of life',

you mean that it has become a common or regular event for someone rather

than something that happens only occasionally.

And finally, when something 'spells trouble',

it suggests that there may be problems coming in the future.

Once again, our six minutes are up. Goodbye for now!

Bye!