Standing Kodo crop destroyed after death of 10 elephants at MP's Bandhavgarh reserve

Bhopal, Nov 2
Madhya Pradesh's Forest Department staff have destroyed the standing Kodo millet crop at an agricultural field in Umariya district following the deaths of 10 wild elephants at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR). The step was taken on Friday after autopsy reports hinted that the mycotoxins in Kodo could have led to the death of the 10 elephants in the past three days. This comes a day after, investigating teams of the Forest Department collected samples from paddy fields, water bodies and fields where the elephants consumed kodo millets for analysis.

Of the 10 elephants, four died on Tuesday, another four on Wednesday and two were reported dead early on Thursday. Conditions of three other tuskers are stated to be normal, and they are being continuously monitored by multiple teams of veterinarians.

Teams of wildlife health officers and veterinarians from Bandhavgarh and Jabalpur-based School of Wildlife Forensic and Health under the supervision of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (Uttrakhand), relentlessly tried to treat the elephants but could not save them.

Preliminary probes and opinions of vets suggest mycotoxins associated with the standing Kodo (millet) crop, which was consumed by the elephants, could be behind the deaths.

A large volume of Kodo was found in the elephants' stomachs, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) L. Krishnamoorthy stated, adding that a five-member panel has been formed to investigate the deaths.

The BTR, which houses the densest population of tigers in MP, has become home to a big herd of wild elephants since 2018. More than 50 elephants originating from neighbouring Chhattisgarh, have reportedly made the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve their permanent habitat.