''Ghost Chili'' Scares Off Elephants
A volunteer shows a rope fence smeared with chili powder and grease used to protect sugarcane from wild elephants near Tezpur in the northeastern Indian state of Assam on December 1, 2005.
Wildlife experts in Assam now are using a similar mixture that features bhut jolokia, the world's hottest chili, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Smoke bombs made from the chili are also being used to keep the elephants out.
"We fill straw nests with pungent dry chili and attach them to sticks before burning it. The fireball emits a strong pungent smell that drives away the elephants," Nandita Hazarika of the Assam Haathi (Elephant) Project told the AP. Hazarika emphasized that the animals were not harmed by these deterants.
