How to stop an elephant with a piece of string
... so long as it is soaked in chilli
An elephant can weigh up 7 tonnes, stand as much as 4m tall, and can congregate in herds numbering hundreds or more. Yet a piece of string soaked in chilli and engine oil can be enough to turn then back, or at least divert them around a field.
It seems they just don't like chilli
The chilli rope works well. Noah even goes so far as to say that he thinks the elephants have never even touched the rope. And this on a demonstration plot which was reliably raided on a regular basis last season, and which, this time, with the rope, has not been raided once.However, it does need regular maintenance (like all fences that are used to keep elephants out). The chilli/oil application must be reapplied every evening, and although so far it has proved 100% effective, Noah comments that unless the farmer rotates his deterrents, then it is just a matter of "waiting to see when the elephants eventually say 'this is rubbish'" and destroy the fence.
Other facts about elephants and fences
A fascinating fact: some researchers have pointed out how in erecting a fences, you can actually increase the risk of damage to your crops by elephants. It goes with what is said elsewhere: being as smart as they are, it seems elephants associate the fact that there is a fence with the fact that a human must have something to hide.
And no matter what the type of fence - with the possible exception of a well maintained and powerful electric fence - if you give an elephant enough time, and you do not rotate your tactics to keep them away - they will, with almost no doubt, eventually find their way into your fields.
Fences can just divert the problem elsewhere
The chilli rope is proving effective, but Noah sees this as just diverting the problem elsewhere. It will not be until Noah has all farmers participating in field protection with this simple but effective measure, will he be able to judge if it is possible to wean the elephants off their taste for maize.Growing chilli can also earn more money
Chilli is a cash crop, and this means that a farmer can sell any surplus and use the funds to buy improved livestock. Improved livestock, using sahwiwial bulls, can raise the price of a Masaais cattle several fold. And with more valuable livestock, their new dependence on growing crops for cash will hopefully diminish.The tale of the 1.4km chili rope, by Noah
"We were testing this simple technology, and wanted to see what would happen if put up a rope between the farms and the forests. So we erected this 1.4km long string that had been soaked in chilli, tobacco and grease.And everybody waited to see what would happen.
When the elephants came, they were so annoyed that they couldn't pass this simple piece of string that that they started breaking all the trees on the edge of the forest. They broke the trees but not the rope. The people were very amused and excited.
So for the next two or three days they kept on coming and breaking the trees, but not the rope.
However, after a week or so, they learned how to go around the rope. And get into the fields. And when they were then chased by people back towards the forest, of course they came across the rope, and wouldn't pass it!"
