Three more wild elephants die in MP's Bandhavgarh, toll rises to 10

Ten wild elephants die in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve due to toxic substance, sparking investigations by wildlife authorities.

Three more wild elephants have died in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) after consuming a toxic substance, taking the toll to ten so far this week, a forest department official said on Thursday (October 31, 2024).

One tusker died on Wednesday evening and another two on Thursday," MP Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF-Wildlife) VKN Ambade told PTI over the phone from inside the reserve.

"At present, we have not found any foul play [in the death of elephants]. I have visited so many nearby areas. I am not seeing any foul play as of now. But let us see what [autopsy and forensic] reports say," he said.

"A five-member team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau from Delhi is in the reserve. The National Tiger Conservation Authority's Nagpur-based regional officer, assistant inspector general of forests Nandkishore Kale, was camping here to get first-hand feel of the situation," Ambade said.

"Our state tiger strike force is also doing investigations along with sniffer dogs," he added.

They have collected samples from nearby agriculture lands, paddy fields, water bodies and from fields where the elephants consumed kodo millets," he added.

When contacted over phone, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy said, "Autopsies have been conducted and veterinary doctors on the basis on circumstantial evidences have said toxicity has been observed in their stomach." "Also, a lot of kodo millet has been found [in their stomach]," said Krishnamoorthy, who heads the state government-appointed five-member committee probing the death of tuskers in Bandhavgarh which is spread across Umaria and Katni districts in eastern Madhya Pradesh.