Untitled Document
 Elephants
are the largest land animals on Earth. They look very strong and brave.
But did you know that they are very scared of certain tiny insects? This is because
they can kill the huge mammals. Can you guess what the insects are?
You may be surprised to learn that
bees are the biggest enemies
of elephants! According to a new study, elephants are so scared of
bees that they even have a special alarm call to warn the herd when there is a threat from them! Bees sometimes
attack the large mammals
and sting them around the eyes
and trunk. Bee stings can even
kill young elephants.
A team of scientists from Oxford University found that elephants make
a low sound to warn of a bee attack. When they hear the sound of angry
bees coming the elephants flee from the sound and make
a low rumbling sound to warn others.
 The scientists
say that the discovery could help keep
elephants away from farms in Africa and prevent the animals being
killed. Elephants often stray onto farmers’ land
and destroy crops in the poor
African countries. In order to protect their food sources,
farmers kill a great number of elephants
every year.
“Playing the sound of bees will be able to help scare away the elephants
and save the endangered animals,” said
Dr. Joseph Soltis, who participated in the study. The study is published
in the journal PLoS One. |
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