The first of January was like any other day for farmer Somadasa Muthubanda. He got up early morning and was cooking milk rice in his humble hut to celebrate the auspicious day while keeping an eye for the predators that frequently raided his millet cultivation.
He was astounded by what he saw next. A party of peacocks had landed to feast on his crop. He forgot about his breakfast and ran from one end to the other, chasing away the birds, but the peacocks were smarter than him.
The heaviest pheasants in Sri Lanka that have a unique connection to the island’s divinity flew away from one end to the other, strategically avoiding the farmer’s vain attempts to shoo them away, and landing like a fleet of drones, ruining his cultivation.
Muthubanda returned to his hut. His overcooked breakfast had become charcoal, and he thought he had enough of these marauding flocks. He poured kerosene oil on his body and tried to burn himself to death.
The father of two jumped into a nearby lake in an attempt to douse the flames, regretting the rash decision he took unable to control his violent anger. Relatives fished Muthubanda out of the water, rushed him for medical attention. He survived on life support in two hospitals, and died fighting after eleven days. This is perhaps the first suicide over man-animal conflict over crops.
A few months ago, seven elephants were poisoned. The reason attributed to this tragedy was said to be farmers’ wrath over hungry jumbos raiding crops looking for food. There are such incidents reported from upcountry where leopards are poisoned by farmers and small-scale land owners to protect their cultivations.
According to an article in Sinhala language Aruna website, peacocks are the most feared predators of the farmers. The birds have been driven away from its natural habitats down south, after an expressway was built from the capital to Matara. There are warning signs along the road, cautioning the drivers against peacocks crossing the road.
The shift of climate patterns due to global warming had made the birds migrate into other areas. There is also a dearth of jackals – perennial enemy of the peacock- due to fast-growing human habitations. There are no specific research done on the increase of peacock population but according to farmers there had been undoubtedly a massive growth during the last decade. A wild life expert suggests the culling of the peacocks like they kill camels in Australia to protect water resources.
S. Thilakasiri, chairman of Galenbindunawewa farmers’ association, says the peacock is not anymore a tourist attraction in his area. Fascination with its coquettish mating rituals is a thing of the past. “The peacock is one of the most hated birds in the farming areas. They eat any grain, vegetables, fruits. Hot chillies is the most favourite of these marauding birds,” he says.
It is a hundred-fold harmful than the parrots, which come to feed only twice a day and farmers manage to save the crops as they are aware of the birds’ feeding habits. The peacock does not have a fixed time to eat, raiding the crops throughout the day.
Farmer Balasuriya of Rambewa says, “A peacock weighs about 15-20 kilos, and a couple is enough to destroy a mesh built for particular vegetables like snake gourds and laffa (wetakolu) and feast on them.
Farmer Jayathissa of Hingurakgoda: “It is difficult to catch or kill the peacocks due to their massive size. Another difficulty is that the bird is treated as a holy animal. It is the vehicle of God Kataragama, a native deity held in high veneration.” Even pilgrims from India flock to Kataragama shrine for a massive annual festival honouring the popular Sri Lankan god.
Susila Rathnayake of Rambewa: “People fear to hunt the bird due to its divine reputation, and I have heard that several people who ate peacock meat had died after vomiting blood.” Some farmers have resorted to poison the birds, but some religious ones are against this practice.
Peacock meat is a delicacy in farming areas, and according to some reports, people prefer only the flesh of the peahen now. “This won’t probably anger God Kataragama as he prefers only a male bird as his vehicle,” says another farmer with a chuckle.
According to data, animals like elephants, monkeys, wild boar, giant squirrel and peacock destroy roughly half of crops in Sri Lanka. A research covering 46 villages has revealed that about 40 percent of grain, vegetable and fruit crops are destroyed by wild animals foraging for food. Farmers are unable to equip themselves with air rifles to scare peacocks due to their prohibitive costs, says another. Some farmers set up traps to capture the birds, but the pheasants have enough strength and tact to escape with little struggle.
The flocks which were earlier confined to the Dry Zone have now migrated to Wet Zone agricultural areas like Gampaha, Galle and Kaluthara. There are reports that many roofs have collapsed when the flocks come looking for food and land on houses.
One farmer says they can claim compensation when their crops are destroyed by natural calamities like floods and drought, but there are no facilities to provide relief when wild animals destroy crops. newstrails.com (Reports from Aruna website and the Web)
