Photo credit: Audubon
For centuries, a small brown bird has helped humans in African communities do something difficult: find wild honey hidden deep in trees and rock crevices. The greater honeyguide leads people to bees’ nests, waits nearby, and feeds on the wax left behind after the harvest.
It is one of the rarest partnerships between humans and wild animals anywhere in the world.
New research from northern Ghana suggests that this relationship, while not extinct, is slowly fading into the background.
A study published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B finds that cooperation between honey-hunters and honeyguide birds still exists, but only at low levels, even as northern Ghana undergoes rapid social and economic change.
Researchers interviewed 36 honey-hunters and 100 other residents across four regions. Their conclusion: most honey-hunters today do not rely on honeyguides.
Only about one in three reported using the bird to find bees’ nests. Many said they instead return to known nests, relying on memory rather than guidance. This approach is often safer, faster, and more rewarding than following a bird in search of something new.
In contrast, in parts of East and southern Africa, honeyguides remain central to honey-hunting, with people actively calling to the birds and depending on them to locate honey. Indeed, a study published earlier this year in Proceedings B found that in the Kingdom of Eswatini, young cattle herders and community members still often engage in recreational honey-hunting with the help of honeyguide birds.
In Eswatini, this activity is mainly cultural, with honey eaten or shared rather than sold, and skills passed down by elders and peers. But another study published this year in ScienceDirect revealed that honeyguides bring measurable economic value to local communities in northern Mozambique, where honey sales linked to honeyguide-assisted hunting were estimated at $40,700 in 2023.
From partnership to side effect
When honeyguides are followed in northern Ghana, the old bargain still holds. Hunters leave behind wax. The birds eat it. Camera traps set by the researchers captured honeyguides feeding on wax scraps left after nighttime honey harvests, confirming that the birds still benefit.
But here is the shift: honeyguides now often get wax without guiding anyone at all.
Wax is commonly discarded after honey is processed, whether or not a honeyguide was involved. Beekeepers also leave wax behind. As a result, honeyguides can survive on leftovers, weakening the incentive to actively cooperate.
Scientists describe this as a move from mutual cooperation to a more accidental relationship—one where the bird benefits, but human participation is optional.
Why this bond is weakening
Several factors are driving the change.
First, bee nests are becoming harder to find. Many honey-hunters said trees and wild bees are less abundant than in the past, making honey-hunting more difficult overall.
Second, knowledge is thinning. Only about half of the honey-hunters interviewed were familiar with honeyguides, and most people in other forest-based livelihoods had never heard of them.
Third, honey-hunting itself is changing. Beekeeping has expanded across northern Ghana, encouraged by NGOs and government programmes. While it has not replaced honey-hunting, it offers a more predictable alternative, especially for older men.
But social change may be the biggest factor. Younger people increasingly prioritize schooling and non-farm work. Some hunters said they were unsure whether their children would continue the practice at all.
Still, the tradition has not collapsed.
Most honey-hunters learned the skill from their fathers or older relatives, and many are teaching their sons. Hunters who use honeyguides today often come from families that have done so for generations.
That kind of direct transmission has helped the practice survive but at a low level.
The researchers found no clear evidence of a generational break yet. But they caution that when a practice becomes rare, it also becomes fragile.
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
How AI, Phones and Social Media Are Being Used for Health in Africa: A new review of scientific studies finds that artificial intelligence, combined with mobile phones and social media, is increasingly being used to tackle health problems in Africa but unevenly and with major gaps. Researchers reviewed nearly 500 papers and closely analysed 29 studies that used AI tools alongside mobile technology or social media for health. Most focused on infectious diseases like malaria and COVID-19, while far fewer addressed chronic illnesses such as cancer or diabetes.
Research was concentrated in countries with better internet access, including South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. The review also found limited involvement of African researchers and little discussion of ethics or local context. The authors conclude that while the potential is huge, stronger investment, fair partnerships and better policies are needed to make these technologies work equitably across the continent. [Reference, Nature Communications]
Traditional Crops Could Help Africa Adapt to Climate Change: Africa can better cope with climate change by growing a wider range of traditional and underused crops, not just staples like maize or rice. Scientists used computer models to test how 24 crops, including hardy local crops such as millet, sorghum, fonio, cowpea and yams, perform under heat and drought.
They found many of these “opportunity crops” are more resilient to extreme weather and could survive where major crops struggle. The models worked well even with limited data and can help governments and farmers decide which crops are best suited to different regions, helping protect food supplies as the climate becomes hotter and more unpredictable. [Reference, Nature Communications]
Can Africa Develop Its Own Medicines? Africa has growing scientific talent and rising demand for healthcare but it is still largely unprepared to bring its own medicines to market. The biggest obstacle lies in preclinical drug development–the stage that tests whether new compounds are safe before human trials. The paper shows that Africa has very few laboratories certified to meet international Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards, which regulators require before approving clinical trials. As a result, promising African discoveries often stall or must be tested abroad.
Researchers say underinvestment, weak regulatory systems, skills shortages, and slow approvals continue to hold the continent back. However, the study argues that with targeted investment, stronger regulation, regional collaboration, and use of tools like artificial intelligence, Africa could significantly reduce its dependence on imported medicines. [Reference, ScienceDirect]
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