New Delhi: As per the preliminary information shared by the concerned officers from the State of Madhya Pradesh, the death of ten elephants in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh may be because of poisoning.
The postmortem of the ten elephants was done by a team of 14 veterinarians/wildlife veterinarians. The viscera after the postmortem was sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar, Bareilly and Forensic Science Laboratory, Sagar, for toxicological and histopathological investigations on November 1, 2024.
However, the blood and other samples were sent to the School of Wildlife Forensic and Health (SWFH) on October 30, 2024, while treatment of the sick elephants prima facie indicated the presence of toxins in the samples sent.
The final cause of death shall only be ascertained after thorough enquiry, detailed postmortem reports, results of histopathological and toxicological reports and other corroborative evidence.
Separate enquiry committees under the Central government, the Madhya Pradesh government, as well as the State Tiger Strike Force, have been set up to probe into the recent death of the elephants in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has constituted a team to enquire into the death of the ten elephants and the team is conducting an independent enquiry into the matter.
Further, a five-member State-level committee constituted by the Madhya Pradesh government to enquire into the matter would separately submit a report to the State Government. The Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) is heading the five-member committee. The committee has members from civil society, scientists and veterinarians.
The Head of State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) is also probing the matter. The STSF has combed the forests and the adjoining villages and is conducting an in-depth enquiry into the incident.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden, Madhya Pradesh is camping in Bandhavgarh and supervising the enquiry and actions being taken in the matter. On the other hand, the Additional Director General of Forests (Project Tiger and Elephant) and Member Secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, along with AIG NTCA, Nagpur, have visited the sites and held discussions with the State officials on the various related issues and probable cause of the deaths of elephants.
Preventive measures are being taken to avoid the possibility of such incidents by the State officials and monitoring of other elephant herds in and around Bandhavgarh reserve has been enhanced as informed by the officials.
It may be mentioned that the patrolling staff of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve detected the death of four elephants in the Salkhania beats of Pataur and Khiatuli range of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh on October 29, 2024. On further combing of the adjoining areas, six more elephants were found sick or unconscious in the vicinity. The field staff and local veterinary officers started medication for the sick elephants, which was supported by a team of veterinarians from the School of Wildlife Forensic and Health (SWFH). The services of Dr AB Srivastava, retired Head of SWFH were also taken. The opinion of veterinarians and faculty at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun was also taken.
However, four sick elephants succumbed to death on October 30, 2024. Further, even after continuous medication and treatment, the remaining two sick and unconscious elephants lost their lives on October 31, 2024.
Out of those dead ten elephants, one was male and nine were female. Further, amongst the ten dead elephants, six were juvenile/subadults and four were adults. The information revealed that the herd of thirteen elephants had raided the Kodo millet crop in the vicinity of the forest.
– global bihari bureau
