Elephants Stay Away As Pepper Does the Trick



The Nation (Nairobi)

July 1, 2004
Posted to the web July 1, 2004

Nairobi

Farmers in Laikipia are planting pepper around other crops to keep away elephants.

The project of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum aims at tackling the human-wildlife conflict.

Elephants are known to hate pepper.

According to a community conservation officer with LWF, Mr Josephat Musyimi, the method has been successfully used in Zimbabwe. He expressed optimism that it would work in Kenya.

The farmers will also burn elephant dung combined with chilli oil to chase away the animals.

At demonstration plots in the Habahaba area, initial reports say elephants are avoiding farms fenced with ropes smeared with chilli oil, Mr Musyimi said.

He was addressing visiting East African Legislative Assembly members at Lewa Conservancy.

Meanwhile, elephants have destroyed more than 100 acres of crop in Kabaru, near the Mt Kenya Forest in Nyeri District, in the past three months.

Residents of Island Farm Settlement Scheme are now threatening to kill the animals unless Kenya Wildlife Service urgently acts to tame them.

Well I guess so! If you had an elephant trunk for a nose you too would avoid anything that's going to make you snease. Hey, does this mean that pepper spray is a good DG weapon for elephants?

The only thing we have to worry about is if (as in the joke) elephants have an orgasm every time they sneeze. May end up with elephants looking for pepper!

I dont know about the effectiveness of using chilli peppers to ward of elephant, But this method is actually being pushed by our local authorities in Zambia
This is in response to the villagers complaints against crop raiders.
My wife uses cayenne pepper powder in our garden to stop my dogs from digging up the beds and it does seem to work.
So I guess there are uses for peppers other than receiving ring stings!!!!

I don't expect it will work for long. Horses and deer quickly learn to like it.