The ten elephants that died near the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh last week were killed after eating excessive quantities of kodo millet contaminated with the fungus. Questions about the safety of pachyderms.

In the investigation carried out by ICAR Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) Bareilly, cyclopiazonic acid, a toxic substance produced by some fungi, was detected in all samples collected from the organs of 10 elephants.

“Cyclopiazonic acid, found in kodo millets infected with the fungus, was detected in all samples of buffalo, kidney, spleen, heart, lung, stomach and intestinal contents, with concentrations above 100 ppb (parts per billion). The result suggests that the elephants may have eaten large amounts of kodo,” said L Krishnamoorthy, additional chief conservator of forest (APPCF) and chairman of the state investigation committee set up to investigate the deaths.

The elephants, part of a herd of 13, were killed between October 29 and October 31 in the reserve in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria district. The deaths caused consternation across the country; Many people and experts have expressed concerns that the elephants were poisoned.

But toxicology excludes the presence of foreign toxic elements.

“The toxicological examination report from ICAR IVRI Bareilly wildlife conservation management and disease surveillance center found no trace of common insecticides such as HCN (cyanide nitrate), nitrite, heavy metals or organic phosphates, organic, chlorine viroids or carbonates.”

However, residents of Salkhaniya village claimed that local forest officials did not intervene immediately despite the elephants “crying in pain for hours”. Authorities denied these allegations.

Experts underlined that elephants can only be killed if they eat large amounts of crops.

“Kodo millet has been reported to develop toxins due to fungal infections of aspergillus and penicillium species. “There are many examples of people and animals affected by Kodo poisoning,” an environment ministry official said.

Of course, there is almost no literature on deaths due to kodo millet poisoning, except for the range officer’s letter dated 23 March 1934 to the Madurai work schedule officer regarding the deaths of 13 wild elephants after eating kodo millets. Experts said such deaths are rare.

According to a 2023 research paper conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), CSIR, consumption of kodo millet has been found to frequently cause intoxication and poisoning. Cereals are frequently infested with aspergillus tamarii kita, which produces significant amounts of cyclopiasonic acid (CPA), which was also detected in the toxicology report.

The article stated that symptoms of kodo poisoning are characterized by nausea, vomiting, delirium, depression, intoxication and loss of consciousness.

Residents near the reserve said the elephants started playing trumpets around 2 a.m. on the night of October 28-29. However, he said that forest officials treated the elephants only on the afternoon of October 29 and the treatments by veterinarians started between 14.00 and 16.00. said the villagers.

Local resident Manoj Singh said: “Initially, when they started crying, we thought it was a common occurrence. But later, their screams became louder and continued for hours. We later came to know that they had died.”

Local officials said the government doctor posted in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve was Dr. He said Nitin Gupta was allegedly not in the area and reached at 4 pm on October 29.

“Doctors were called from different places and treatment started after 14:00. “But the infection was so serious that the remaining six elephants died during treatment.”

An officer, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said: “Several veterinarians were contacted for immediate assistance around noon on October 29 but they refused to come as they were busy with Dhanteras. A doctor reached the scene first and started treatment.”

Wildlife expert Ajay Dubey, who independently investigated the matter, also made the same claims. “The villagers told me that elephants make noise but no one pays attention to it in the forest. Likewise, treatment was started with a delay. “If the forest officials had started treatment on time by getting help from elephant experts, maybe they could have been saved,” he said.

Many experts said they were surprised by the rarity of deaths from kodo millet poisoning.

“A similar incident took place near a tea garden in (then) Tamil Nadu in 1933; here elephants died after eating what was suspected to be fungus-infested kodo. We know that cattle often become ill after consuming contaminated kodo. But death is an extreme case. It also needs to be determined whether any pesticides are used. Kodo is a durable crop and pesticides are generally not used,” said Soumik Banerjee, indigenous seed conservationist and researcher. He referred to a correspondence in Indian Forester about elephant deaths in 1933.

Referring to the 1933 incident, veteran ecologist and elephant expert R Sukumar said he believed it was a case of natural poisoning, most likely due to mycotoxin infestation in kodo millet.

He said Madhya Pradesh has not been the natural habitat of wild elephants since Mughal times.

“I think they may have migrated in recent years. We see a continuing pattern of migration of elephants to central India from Jharkhand, Odisha, South Bengal and other original habitats that began in the late 1980s. “There are two possible reasons for this: first, mining may have caused habitat degradation in the eastern states, and second, climate changes such as long dry periods may have caused this,” he added.

Oliver King, director of biodiversity at the Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (specialising in Kodo millet), said: “Kodo millet has historically had a problem with fungal contamination. This occurs when moisture in the grain is high. It is often infested with Aspergillus, particularly if the crop is not dried properly.” “If cattle eat this with large quantities of contaminated grain, it may have hallucinogenic effects. However, this depends entirely on the amount of contaminated product consumed. However, how consuming infested kodo millet can lead to death must now be scientifically investigated,” he said.