Three More Elephants Dead at Bandhavgarh, takes toll to Seven

Bhopal

Three more wild elephants have died at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh—taking the total number of elephant deaths to seven in less than 24 hours, said media reports on Wednesday.

Though official confirmation is awaited, local journalists stand by reports that suggest that the three pachyderms died while they were being treated for ingestion of a mysterious poisonous substance that has already killed a total of seven from a herd of 13.

Patrol teams came across four dead elephants at Salakhaniya area of the forest on Tuesday afternoon, a subsequent combing operation led to the discovery of another five grievously ill elephants. The three deaths are presumably from these unwell animals who had reportedly been under intensive medical care.

The herd had originally comprised of 13 individuals. Four were discovered dead on Tuesday, three more have died under treatment. Two remain under medical care while the remaining four were said to be healthy by wildlife officials yesterday.

Though initial reports had suggested that the deaths may have been caused by pesticides that the farmers on the margins of the forest may have sprayed in their fields. Wildlife officials are yet to confirm or deny these reports.

Officials have maintained that a thorough investigation and forensic tests will be conducted before a brief is released to the media. The silence has only led to speculations over possible causes of the deaths.