Sri Lanka begins census of monkeys, peacocks and squirrels amid agricultural damage

Sri Lanka Saturday began a wildlife census to count monkeys, peacocks and giant squirrels. This aims at managing their populations as they pose a threat to agriculture produce.

Sri Lankan government data shows that agriculture contributes 8 per cent of the countries economy and employs 8.1 million people.

Further, the island country is the fourth-largest coconut products exporter globally and produces around 3 billion cashew and other nuts annually, according to the Exports Development Board (EDB).


However, coconut production, along with other cultivation, has been curtailed because of crop destruction by monkeys, peacocks and giant squirrels, a top government official told Reuters.

"The problem has become so bad people are giving up farming. We are losing about 20% of total agricultural production. It is estimated that 90 million coconuts are lost every year," Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, told Reuters.

"The census is the first step to understanding the density of these animals in farming areas so we can formulate proper policies to manage them."

Last month, a monkey had caused nationwide blackout and power cuts lasted for three days.

Farmers attribute the rising numbers of monkeys, peacocks, porcupines and wild boars in the area to habitat loss.