Meera Bhardwaj:
The postmortem results of Bandhavgarh elephant deaths are yet to come. However, speculation on the death of 10 elephants continues unabated even before the autopsy & forensic reports are out.
Between October 29-31st, the Madhya Pradesh (MP) Forest department found 10 elephants in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) falling in Umaria & Katni districts of eastern MP. Some were found dead while some were dying. The 10 dead elephants belonged to a herd of 13. A team of 12 experts are inquiring into the shocking incident that made national headlines.
PROBE & SUSPENSION
Meanwhile, the state government suspended two forest officials – Gaurav Choudhary, Director, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and Fateh Singh Ninama, In Charge ACF of this tiger reserve.
The Madhya Pradesh govt has formed a committee to look into the deaths. With many experts, state & central teams (WCCB, NTCA) probing the death, forest officials say they have not come across any conspiracy theories.
Official sources add, “The post mortem was carried out as per existing guidelines and everything was documented in detail and video coverage done. We have nothing to hide and are following a clear mandate. One cannot jump to conclusions till every sample is tested be it chemical analysis, fungal growth, etc. At every level be it molecular or biotechnical level, examination is being done. So, it will take some time to collate all the results and come to a scientific conclusion.”
Date Range No of deaths
Oct 29 Khitoli 4
Oct 30 Khitoli 4
Oct 31 Khitoli 2
A Wildlife Veterinarian from Madhya Pradesh states, “Till all the post mortem results are out that includes visceral samples sent to different labs, no conclusion can be drawn on the cause of deaths. No official report has yet come, only preliminary deductions have been made in the aftermath of site visit and post mortem.
Preliminary indications are deaths may be due to Kodo millet poisoning, however, only a visceral report will confirm the reasons for death. But no malign toxic or chemical poisoning has been indicative or suggestive for the death at Bandhavgarh.
ARE KODO MILLETS RESPONSIBLE?
Most of the elephants had died while a few were still alive and later died after suffering from various symptoms like fever, shivering, etc. They were found early morning in and around and in the vicinity of Kodo millet crops.
Local officials say, “We have never heard of elephants dying after eating Kodo millet crops. In the background of promoting millets in the country, the elephant deaths due to Kodo poisoning is a very sensitive matter.”
FUNGAL CONTAMINATION
Kodo millets (which is known as harca rice in Kannada or Kodo dhaan in Hindi) is an annular crop and is drought resistant. It is grown extensively in India for its high nutritive value. Humans consume this food only after cleaning and drying it but elephants consume it as it is.
The chances of fungus growing on husk and seed is high during wet & humid season. Although millets are versatile crops, the chances of contamination by mycotoxigenic micro-organisms are there and leads to the development of mycotoxins which are poisonous.
RESEARCH ON MYCOTOXIGENIC FUNGI
As per a research report published in the Journal of Food Science & Technology, many mycotoxigenic fungi infect the food crops and affect the quality of the produce due to production of mycotoxins. Kodo millet is one of the important minor millets cultivated in India, mostly confined to marginal lands and tribal regions but has high yield potential under good management. The grains are nutritious and have anti-oxidant properties besides having many medicinal properties.
The scientific report further states, “However, the consumption is often hindered by the condition called ‘kodo poisoning’ resulting from fungal contamination producing cyclopiazonic acid, a toxic fungal secondary metabolite.”
RICH TIGER HABITAT
Well-known for its highest density of population of Royal Bengal tigers, the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve has a core area of 716.90 sq kms and a buffer zone of 820.03 sq kms. Although elephants had not been seen in this national park for almost 100 years, in 2018, a herd of elephants were sighted for the first time.
Presently, Bandhavgarh has about 50-55 elephants that have migrated from Chhattisgarh and become residents in this tiger reserve.