News
Crop damaging animal census yields scattered, sporadic results
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Residents and farmers across the country responded to a government call to conduct an Islandwide census of macaques, langur monkeys, giant squirrels and peacocks between 8 to 8.05 am yesterday.
Some took to their gardens with their family members to gaze up at treetops, electricity wires and walls to spot the animals congregating. However, only some were able to locate animals within their gardens or cultivation areas.
Those with bigger or several adjoining properties complained that they did not get census forms for each property and were incapable of placing people to carry out the census at the given time, despite authorities having advised them to record the statistics on a paper and get it across the Grama Sevaka.
Here come the monkeys: Counting at Dambulu Uyanwatte Purana Raja Maha Viharaya. Pic by Kanchana Ariyadasa
Farmers ventured out to their farms, paddy fields or coconut plantations instead of carrying out the census at their homes, hoping they would be able to record a higher number of animals that way.
Meanwhile Farmers and labourers at tea plantations and other cultivation areas upcountry were not keen about the census and said it was not practical, though they participated.
Even residents of suburban areas near Colombo who claimed they did not receive census forms engaged in the census, some of whom approved of it while others viewed it as a waste of time and farcical, ridiculing it in social media platforms.
Though there were several problems such as failing to find animals in their premises during the five-minute period, difficulty to keep a count of moving animals as well as issues in identifying different species, some did manage to provide a count.
Peacocks in Anuradhapura. Pic by B.G.Chathuranga
Meanwhile The Grama Sevakas, Samurdhi Development Officers, Economic Development Officers and Agriculture Research and Production Assistants who were charged with the responsibility of gathering information were sceptical of the results, as they were to depend on the information given by people which were not 100% accurate. Some of the main complaints made by the general public was that they had not received the census forms and that it was difficult to locate animals in their gardens or cultivation areas within the five-minute period.
Some people residing in suburban areas with frequent forays of monkeys failed to report the animals during the stipulated time period.
Thishani Kodippiliarachi, a resident of Thalangama Koswatte, said that though she did not receive the census form, she was in her garden with a paper in hand to count the monkeys.
“On other days large monkeys dance and play on our rooftops in the morning but today not a single monkey was to be seen” she said.
B. V. Tharangika Shyamalie
W. Marasinghe, a resident of Chilaw, told the Sunday Times that she was given a census form but was unable to count monkeys as they did not turn up at 8.00 am.
“How can I count monkeys as they only come around 10 p.m?” she commented.
A resident of Tissamaharama area, K. A. Princy Surendra, opined that the census would not give accurate results as it does not encompass animals in forested areas.
He added the marauding animals mentioned in the census are active chiefly during three time periods of the day and therefore it is not possible to record them only within the given time.
Mr. Surendra said that if the objective of the exercise is to find data to formulate future action plans, the information gathered needs to be accurate. He added that there is no use of flawed information to create action plans.
A former researcher and resident of the Polonnaruwa New town area, Taya F. Diaz said that he recorded no macaques, langur monkeys, giant squirrels or peacocks in his garden.
He said this result was reached by avoiding feeding and properly disposing of garbage.
Mr. Diaz said that the census itself is not much of a help to mitigate the current human-monkey conflict. According to him, getting people to do the census is also questionable as people could overcount, miscount and exaggerate, and this would lead to an inaccurate result.
The Sunday Times learned that the purple-faced leaf monkey which is endemic to Sri Lanka has four subspecies and out of them the wet zone subspecies is critically endangered.
People in general terms use “wandura” for the macaque, the purple-faced leaf monkey as well as the gray langur, and all three species will be counted as monkeys.
People said that it is better if a picture of the animal is provided in front of the list of animals so they could be easily identified.
A senior government official involved in the census told the Sunday Times that the Grama Sewakas have to create a summary report and submit it to divisional secretaries on March 24. Thereafter the divisional secretary should prepare a report and hand it over to the district secretariat on the March 26 and these latter have to hand over a ‘district summary report’ to the Ministry of Agriculture on 28 March.
The Grama Sewaka and other officers attached to his office collected as much census forms as possible yesterday, due to fears of misplacement of forms. However, some of them expressed a laid-back attitude, asking the general public to hand over the census forms to their offices.
W. A. A. R. P. Weerasooriya, Grama Niladhari of Palihapitiya division in Divulapitiya, Gampaha, said that he visited many houses in his division and obtained records of 61 peafowl and 12 giant squirrels by 11.00 am yesterday.
Another Grama Niladhari who declined to be named said that only few people handed over the census forms to him by afternoon,
Senior Agriculture officials of District Secretariats and divisional secretariats too carried observation rounds to check whether the animal census was carried out properly. In some instances animals were not seen during the scheduled time even though people were prepared to collect information.
District Agriculture Director Puttalam, B.V. Tharangika Shyamalie, went on inspection visits to see how the crop-damaging animal census was carried out.
“I visited the National Livestock Development Board farm at Martin Watta, which is known to have a large population of monkeys, but none of the monkeys were recorded today”, she said.
The count is on: Monaragala. Pic by Nayanajeewa Bandara
She added that this happened even when multiple employees were deployed to carry out the animal count. She also visited the Bangadeniya hela-bojunhala eatery which is usually frequented by monkeys, yet there too not a single monkey had been sighted during the period. She added that she later learned that employees of the eatery had chased away the monkeys.
The Agrarian Development officer attached to Karuwalagaswewa Divisional Secretariat (DS), D.M.N Dissanayake said that there are mixed results from the census, as animals were recorded in some areas but not in others.
She said that some Grama Niladharis collected the census forms, yet in some Grama Sewaka divisions with acting Grama Niladharis, this did not happen.
Ms. Dissanayake added that she got transferred to the Karuwalagaswewa DS five days back and is yet to get to know the officials and the people of the area.
The Special Committee for Reducing Damages Caused by Wild Animals (SCRDCWA) was appointed by the Ministry of Agriculture to resolve the issues caused by crop damaging wild animals.
The census was only one of the initiatives proposed by the committee, according to Director (Agriculture Technology) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Hemantha Amarasinghe.
Anamaduwa, Paramakanda Rajamaha Viharasthanaya. Pic by Hiran Priyanka
He explained that the Ministry set up an operation room on Tuesday with the objective of carrying out the census smoothly.
Mr. Amarasinghe who is also a member of the committee added that the purpose of the census is not to learn the total count of monkeys but to learn the number of monkeys frequenting cultivation areas and human habitations.
Meanwhile The General Secretary of the All Island Free Grama Niladhari Union, Jagath Chandralal told the Sunday Times that they are carrying out the exercise as the government has forced the responsibility on them.
He added that even though Grama Sewakas obtained the census forms they had very little time to distribute them.
The Sunday Times learned that even though the exercise was named a ‘census’ it was a collection of information as it excluded animals in forested areas.
However Census and Statistics Department Director D.D.G.A Seneviratne said that their information was used to calculate the number of census forms required to be printed.
She said that their advice was sought on the matter of how to conduct the exercise and collect information, yet their advice was not sought on the matter of setting the exact methodology of collecting information.
Meanwhile in Parliament, Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha on Wednesday said that no one had done such a census in Sri Lanka before this, therefore he does not expect that it would be a 100 percent success the first time.
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