The people of Kikhar Village of Nangkhor Gewog in Zhemgang say they have to guard their orange trees against Sambar Deer throughout the year. The deer have been frequently invading their orange orchards to feed on the tree barks.
The Sambar deer strip off the tree bark.
“The deer eats away all the bark from the trees. And those trees die slowly. But if a deer eats half of the tree or maybe less, we can nurture it back by applying manure on the affected area,” Chimi, one of the locals, said.
“The trees with yellow leaves had all their bark eaten by a Sambar deer. If this problem continues, most of the farmers would get discouraged with working in the fields,” Wangchuk Norbu, another local, said.
While this problem has persisted for a few years, the issue has become quite rampant this year.
Although farmers set up fences around their orchards, it has not been able to keep away the Sambar deer. Locals say they are now worried that it might affect their orange yield.
“Orange is the main source of income for us, but this year most of the orange trees are slowly dying. We are very worried and don’t know what to do,” Jigme Wangchuk said.
Villagers recently submitted a proposal at the dzongkhag agriculture office requesting for electric fences.
Besides oranges, farmers in Kikhar also grow cardamom and potatoes.
