Which is the living thing elephants are most afraid of? 
In the collective imagination, the legend of the elephant and the mouse has always been a metaphor for the revenge of children against "big and big", but it is also known that it is quite difficult for a savannah pachyderm to meet Micky Mouse.
One could then think of ferocious animals, of big predators, which the elephant fears anyway, but not enough to give up fighting. It was the Oxford researchers, who worked side by side with the Save The Elephants organisation in Kenya, who discovered a few years ago who is the one who does not let huge mammals sleep at night.
They are no less than bees.
When the pachyderms feel the presence of a swarm in the distance, they feel threatened.
Then they emit sound calls to warn the whole herd that it is better to take cover or run away quickly. Lucy King, director of the study which is part of a recently published report on elephant habits, said: "In our experiment we simulated the buzzing of bees to a group of elephant families and studied their reaction. We found that elephants not only run away from noise, but also make a 'boomy' sound by shaking their heads".
According to the researchers, these calls would be an emotional response to the threat and would be used to coordinate group movements, warn nearby individuals and teach younger, inexperienced individuals to be on their guard. 
Bees are not the only "paranoia" of the largest animals of the savannah, obviously like many other wild animals fear fire, but they are the smallest and most difficult to intercept those they fear the most. They can beat them with a lion or a crazy buffalo, but an army of horseflies can send them into total confusion. Another research carried out in a Botswana conservancy, on the other hand, reveals a particular sense of annoyance and disorientation during the night for the psychedelic and stroboscopic disco-like lights. As the African Elephant Journal reports, these techniques, combined with techno music, make the pachyderms want to get close to cultivated fields and local villages where they could do damage.
Researchers hope that these discoveries can help save agricultural crops from elephants and the elephants themselves from farmers. Conflicts between humans and elephants in countries such as Kenya often occur: a hungry elephant can destroy an entire family's crops in a single night and farmers, in an attempt to save the fruits of their labour, drive the animals away using ancient and modern techniques including beating drums to create loud noises, using guard dogs, lighting fires and laying chilli peppers. 
Therefore, the use of a scientific methodology combined with the traditional knowledge and experience of farmers is vital to keep conflict mitigation solid and to adapt and evolve solutions, however bizarre the resulting tools may seem... Poor big nose pachyderms, who knows if at least they like honey and jazz...