''Ghost Chili'' Scares Off Elephants

November 20, 2007—A farmer harvests bhut jolokia chilies at Changpool in the northeastern Indian state of Assam on July 4, 2007. (See a map of India.)

Wildlife experts in Assam are experimenting with the world's hottest pepper to prevent wild elephants from destroying homes and crops and attacking people who live close to the pachyderm's habitat, the Associated Press reported.

A study by the New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute had previously revealed that the bhut jolokia, also know as the "ghost chili,'' has more than a million Scoville heat units (SHU)—the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. The average jalapeno measures at about 10,000 SHU's.

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