Sri Lanka Counts Monkeys, Peacocks and Squirrels to Tackle Crop Damage

FILE PHOTO: A man pulls a cart as he transports sacks filled with potatoes at a market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A man pulls a cart as he transports sacks filled with potatoes at a market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage/File Photo
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Sri Lanka Counts Monkeys, Peacocks and Squirrels to Tackle Crop Damage

FILE PHOTO: A man pulls a cart as he transports sacks filled with potatoes at a market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A man pulls a cart as he transports sacks filled with potatoes at a market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage/File Photo

Sri Lanka began a wildlife census on Saturday to count monkeys, peacocks and giant squirrels, aiming to manage their populations as farmers complain of agricultural losses.
Agriculture accounts for 8% of the country's economy and employs 8.1 million people, government data showed.
Sri Lanka is the fourth-largest coconut products exporter globally and produces about 3 billion cashew and other nuts annually, according to the Exports Development Board (EDB).
But coconut production, along with vegetable and fruit cultivation, has been hit due to crop destruction by monkeys, peacocks and giant squirrels, a top government official said.
"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."
The census comes after an incident in February when a monkey caused a nationwide blackout and power cuts lasting for three days.
Edirisinghe Arachchilage Gnanasena, a 72-year-old farmer, counted 45 monkeys, six giant squirrels and nine peacocks, in the five minutes allocated for the census. His eight-acre plot of farmland in Dambulla, a city in central Sri Lanka, has been struggling with crop losses for years.
With an air gun across his shoulder and lead pellets in a plastic bag, Gnanasena spends hours patrolling the neat rows of coconut, mango and banana plants he has carefully grown.
But tribes of monkeys still strip trees of hundreds of coconuts and pick mangoes, while peacocks swallow long beans whole, Gnanasena said.
"Monkeys are used to the air gun, so I light firecrackers to scare them off. But they always come back."
Farmers attribute the rising numbers of monkeys, peacocks, porcupines and wild boars in the area to habitat loss.
"I hope this census leads to long-term solutions. That is what we want," he added.
"This is not the fault of the animals. It is the fault of the humans."



California Man Wins $50 Million in Lawsuit over Burns from Starbucks Tea

FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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California Man Wins $50 Million in Lawsuit over Burns from Starbucks Tea

FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A delivery driver has won $50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show.
A Los Angeles County jury found Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled instants after he collected it on Feb. 8, 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys.
Garcia's negligence lawsuit blamed his injuries on Starbucks, saying that an employee didn't wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeout tray.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” one of Garcia's attorneys, Nick Rowley, said in a statement.
Starbucks said it sympathized with Garcia but planned to appeal, The Associated Press reported.
“We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive," the Seattle-based coffee giant said in a statement to media outlets, adding that it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
US eateries have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3 million in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through. A judge later reduced the award, and the case ultimately was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000.
Juries have sided with restaurants at times, as in another 1990s case involving a child who tipped a cup of McDonald's coffee onto himself in Iowa.