Days after 10 deaths, M.P. forms advisory panel for rehabilitation and treatment of wild elephants

Police personnel and other officials at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve after the death of 10 elephants, in Umaria district. File photo –
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Days after the death of 10 wild elephants in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, the Madhya Pradesh government has formed an advisory committee for the better management of wild elephants in the State.

According to officials, the order was issued by the Forest department on Wednesday and aims at improved rehabilitation and treatment of wild tuskers that are rescued or captured.

Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF)-Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) V.K.N. Ambade told The Hindu that the nine-member panel will be headed by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife).

“In M.P., this (managing wild elephants) is a new task for us so we want to make sure that a proper procedure is followed for their capture, treatment, and rehabilitation before they are released into the wild,” he said, adding that the authorities will ensure that the ground staff does not take measures just like that.

Mr. Ambade also said that the panel will also comprise the field directors of Bandhavgarh and Sanjay Gandhi National Parks, veterinarians and elephant experts who can set procedures after proper deliberation.

The death of 10 tuskers in the last three days of October, suspected to have died due to toxicity from eating kodo millet crop, has prompted measures from the State government for better elephant management.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav also ordered suspension of two senior forest officials at Bandhavgarh for negligence in dealing with the situation. He also said that a task force will be formed for the management of tuskers, and officials will be sent for training in States with larger elephant population.

A toxicology report based on viscera tests that arrived earlier this week also found traces of cyclopiazonic acid in their bodies and that they had consumed fungus-infected kodo plants.

While the report by ICAR’s Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, did not confirm the exact causes of deaths, it ruled out any poisoning.

Officials now await more test reports from School Of Wildlife Forensic and Health, Jabalpur, and State Forensic Science Laboratory, Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, to get more clarity on the exact causes of deaths.