• Source:JND
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Bandhavgarh Elephants Deaths:  Following the deaths of 10 elephants at Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) within the last week, the Chief Minister of the state, Mohan Yadav, chaired a high-level meeting directing senior forest officials and a state minister to rush to Umaria to probe the large-scale wildlife crisis.

On Tuesday, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under the Khitoli range of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), while four died on Wednesday and two on Thursday, a PTI report stated.

A senior veterinarian linked to the probe said that the elephants fell to the ground and shivered before dying, further deepening the mystery surrounding the deaths of the tuskers.

Samples Sent To IVRI, MP Forensic Laboratory

"We are sending all the samples we have collected from the field and also organs, like viscera, liver, kidney, etc to the IVRI in Izatnagar in UP's Bareilly as well as the MP forensic laboratory in Sagar," Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy told PTI.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Research which is spread across Umaria and Katni districts in eastern Madhya Pradesh, houses almost 60-70 elephants, out of which 10 have died in the last week.

Kodo Crop Destroyed

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).

ALSO READ: MP News: Four Wild Elephants Found Dead In Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Postmortem Underway

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.

Preliminary investigations and veterinary assessments indicate that mycotoxins, possibly linked to the standing Kodo millet crop consumed by the elephants, may have caused their deaths.

A significant amount of Kodo was discovered in the elephants' stomachs, according to Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), L. Krishnamoorthy. He further noted that a five-member panel has been established to thoroughly investigate the cause of the fatalities.

(With agency inputs)