It's bees, not mice, that send elephants into a panic

But researchers have discovered that what really panics a pachyderm is something even smaller - a bee.

When dozing herds are played recordings of a buzzing swarm it takes mere seconds for them to wake up and depart the scene.

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As African bees sting they release a chemical which can attract a swarm of thousands to the elephant

The scientists who made the discovery say it suggests a harmless way of controlling elephants in the wild - with strategically-placed loudspeakers ensuring that they do not encroach into farms and villages.

"We expected the elephants to respond to the threatening sound of disturbed bees, but we were really surprised by the speed of their reaction," said Lucy King, of Oxford University, who carried out the study in Kenya.

"Almost half of the groups we studied moved away within seconds of the bee buzz being turned on.

"This suggests that they already knew the sound and really did not like it."

Earlier studies at Oxford had suggested that elephants dislike beehives and will walk around any areas where bees live.

For the latest research, published today in the journal Current Biology, Miss King tested the response of African elephants to a digital recording of the buzz of disturbed local bees and a "control" sound of a waterfall.

Sixteen of the 17 family groups tested during their midday nap left their resting places under trees within 80 seconds of hearing the sound of bees coming from a speaker 30ft away.

Eight of the groups fled within ten seconds of hearing the bees while not one of the groups which heard the sound of a waterfall moved so fast.

In fact, of the 15 control groups only four were sufficiently bothered by the unexpected noise of falling water to move at all within 80 seconds, the researchers said.

Miss King believes beehives - or even loudspeakers playing the sound of bees - could help farmers keep elephants at bay.

"It is vital that we find new approaches so that we avoid extreme solutions such as shooting problem animals," she said.

"More research is needed to understand to what extent beehives could be used to keep away elephants but we are hopeful that this approach might work.

"Using bees in this way would enable farmers to reduce elephant crop-raiding and tree destruction while at the same time providing some income through the sale of honey.

"This would be a valuable and significant step towards sustainable human-elephant co-existence."

Past studies have shown that African and Indian elephants avoid beehives placed on their regular routes to food.

A study in Kenya also found that trees with beehives were damaged far less.

As African bees sting, they release a chemical which attracts other bees. A swarm can be tens of thousands strong.

Miss King said: "They are very aggressive. Adult elephant skin is tough, but local people tell use that bees are attracted to the water around the eyes of elephants and that stings there can be incredibly painful.

"Elephants forage by pulling down trees and ripping off leaves so they can also get them right up their trunks which must be agonising. Young calves would also be particularly vulnerable."

Just for the record, Miss King added there was no evidence of elephants being afraid of rodents.