Almost an entire herd died The agonizing death of elephants in India is a mystery

The death of several elephants in an Indian national park has puzzled the authorities. Within three days last week, ten animals from a herd of thirteen elephants died in agony in Bandhavgarh Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh for initially unknown reasons, according to Indian media reports.

A three-member investigation team has now come to the preliminary conclusion that "there were no signs of deliberate poisoning", the online platform "The Print" quoted the head of the forestry forces, Aseem Shrivastava, who was a member of the team.

It is therefore suspected that local Kodo millet may have been poisonous to the animals. The elephants had eaten the grain and then drank from a watercourse in the area. However, only pending laboratory results could show whether the grain had had a toxic effect, said Shrivastava, who, together with the other team members, had gathered information from park rangers and villagers, among others, about the unusual deaths.

Elephants collapse after eating grain

The animals had collapsed shortly after eating kodo and had lived for some time. Residents of nearby villages had become aware of the animals and alerted the authorities. According to "The Print", the Ministry of the Environment has not yet ruled out "outside influence" as a result of so-called human-wildlife conflicts. Such conflicts occur when the habitats and interests of humans and wild animals clash.

The incidents have already led to personnel consequences. As reported by the broadcaster NDTV and other Indian media, a head of the wildlife reserve and a forest officer have been suspended for neglecting their duties. Among other things, they are accused of not reacting quickly enough to the incidents.

SDA