Land of Elephants and Practical Jokes

FAO urges Africans not to kill elephants that trample or eat their crops. Instead ... use pepper spray.

Other measures are quite devious and actually sound kinda fun!

Using a plastic gun to fire ping-pong balls full of chili would burst on an elephant's skin and send it running for cover. Another not so harsh method suggests setting fire to a chili-based mixture so the smoke deters the elephant. "Baboons which enter buildings to steal food may be scared off by placing a snake, preferably alive, inside a hollowed-out loaf of bread," the FAO statement suggested.

Cameroonian farmers are skeptical. "I fear elephants are unpredictable and can attack human beings - and how much pepper would you need to attack a herd?" one of them asked.

Career opportunities for hooligans: help FAO develop more practical jokes.