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Homagama gets antlers in a tangle over deer
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Gunasena Manuthunga
By Kasun Warakapitiya
The Department of Wildlife Conservation is in a dilemma over the rising numbers of deer in the Homagama area.
Farmers see them as a nuisance, but there are those who do not like capturing the deer. Wildlife officials have to balance the claims of those who oppose removal and those who do not.
The Director General of Wildlife Conservation, Ranjan Marasinghe said residents have complained of deer who enter their premises and eat up flowering plants and vegetables.
Mr Marasinghe believes that the deer were not a part of the ecosystem in the area, but a few animals had been introduced by someone and they had multiplied due to lack of natural predators.
Ransinghage Sarath
“The deer are severely inbred, therefore lacking genetic value; from a conservative stance, such animals should be culled, yet as that is not encouraged by the locals, relocation is planned,’’ he said.
He said that they are ready to capture and relocate the animals if residents agree. The process is difficult. The animals have to be trapped, transported, and quarantined before being released into a wildlife park.
The Director in Charge of Wildlife Health of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) Dr Tharaka Prasad said about 1,500 would be captured with nets and relocated to a wildlife park in the dry zone.
“We had a few rounds of discussions with the divisional secretary of the area regarding translocation,’’ he said, adding a lorry is being modified for the job.
Dr Prasad recalled that during 2010, too, 47 deer were captured with the help of two platoons of soldiers. But, a group of residents expressed displeasure.
Naminda Wickramasinghe
A resident farmer and treasurer of Pubudu Farmers Association, Sarath Ranasinghe, 58, said that he had been writing to authorities’ asking to remove the deer since 2007, yet the animals remain.
He said that the Department of Wildlife had promised to capture the animals on March 17, yet nothing had happened.
Farmers at Homagama east said that they abandoned 20 acres of paddy land because of the deer.
Naminda Wickramasingha another farmer said that the deer come onto paddy fields and so he gave up cultivation.
Another resident Gunasena Manatunga, 66, said the deer would roam into his garden and chew up plants if he leaves the gate open. The deer also rub their antlers on small trees and damage them during the antler shedding season.
Where deer roam freely. Pix by Akila Jayawardena
Herd of deer near a residence
An abandoned paddyland due to deer issues
| Follow the advice, wildlife pleads The Department of Wildlife has called for the use of scientific information and animal conservation tactics. The Director General of the Department Ranjan Marasinghe said that the department should be allowed to maintain manageable numbers of animals scientifically. According to him, people are complaining and at the same time opposing DWC intervention. There are complaints about unprotected animals such as the porcupine, which uproots plants, and feasts on crops. “When the people themselves reject our intervention and neglect advice such as to refrain from feeding human food to animals, animals become nuisance animals,” he said. When the issue becomes worse those who have control over different areas take matters into their own hands to reduce the numbers of animals in ways that do not support conservation.
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