Battered peacock

Raja Waidyasekera

Peacock, a conserved bird in Wildlife National Parks in Sri Lanka has turned a high-valued delicacy which decorates the table tops of the hotels of the Tissamaharama and Lunugamwehera District Secretariat areas.

The peacocks that haunted the shrub jungles have now come to the villages in search of water and food as a result of the prevailing drought.

The poaching of peacocks goes unabated in these areas. There is a rising demand for peacock flesh from star hotels in Hambantota. A kilo of peacock flesh fetches Rs. 900 to Rs. 1,000.

Those arriving at Tissamaharama sylvan shrines and Lunugamwehera National Park can witness flocks of peacock on either sides of the road.