By Rithwik Sundar
The year was 2018, and Bandhavgarh’s forests seemed to have welcomed new mammalian residents – elephants. A herd of about 40 elephants made their journey from Chhattisgarh to Madhya Pradesh and recolonised Bandhavgarh. After a century, Madhya Pradesh found itself home to its own colony of resident elephants. The event made headlines, but it wasn’t exactly good news. The pachyderms were forced out of their habitats in neighbouring states such as Jharkhand, primarily because of mining-triggered deforestation and habitat degradation in central India’s elephant ranges. Seeking refuge, they found their way into Madhya Pradesh, a state known for its tigers and vast, sprawling forests. Over the following years, more elephants continued to move into Madhya Pradesh, prompting forest officials to work tirelessly to manage this new presence. They sought technical expertise from major elephant-bearing states across India, while local communities and farmers – unfamiliar with these majestic creatures – began to adapt.
Fast forward to the last days of October 2024. The elephants of Bandhavgarh made headlines once again, but this time for tragic reasons. On October 29, four elephants were found dead at Sankhani and Bakeli in the Khitoli range of the reserve, with another six seriously ill. The next day, four more elephants died, followed by two more deaths on October 31. In a span of just three days, 10 out of a 13-member elephant herd died. The tragedy sent shockwaves across the country. Wildlife experts, conservationists, forest officials, and the general public were all caught off guard. No one could have predicted this, and the question lingered – how could this have happened?
Photo: Saurav Kumar Boruah/Sanctuary Photolibrary.
A detailed toxicology report released by the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, on November 5 confirmed that the elephants’ deaths were caused by the consumption of large quantities of kodo millet. The examination of the stomach contents revealed dangerously high levels of cyclopiazonic acid, a toxin. Under specific environmental conditions, this toxin is produced by fungi that affect the kodo millet crop. The report also noted the absence of any insecticides, ruling out the possibility of retaliatory killing or foul play.
Before the report’s release, speculation was rife that the elephants were poisoned in retaliation for crop raiding. The archives reveal that in 1933, 14 elephants died in the fields surrounding the Vannathiparai Reserve Forest in Tamil Nadu, after consuming the same plant. Fungal infections of cereal crops producing toxins, known as mycotoxins, are well-documented. Mycotoxins can cause serious health issues and when consumed in large quantities, they can be fatal. The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve forest staff has since destroyed the kodo millet crop. And in the wake of the tragedy, an emergency meeting was convened, with the Chief Minister announcing the formation of an Elephant Task Force, the radio-collaring of elephants to track their movements and investigate the tragedy. Additionally, the Field Director of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and an Assistant Conservator of Forests were suspended for failing to monitor the movements of the elephant herd. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change further stepped in by involving the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to launch a formal investigation.
Meanwhile, past experience suggests that the elephants will gradually fade from the headlines, to become a concern for a smaller group of forest officials, conservationists, wildlifers, farmers and the villagers who must contend with unwelcome elephant-human interactions.
In the past, the resilience, tolerance, and reverence of these communities toward wildlife have played a crucial role in their conservation. It is only through their continued support that wildlife has any hope of recovery. On November 2, just days after the elephants died from kodo poisoning, two people lost their lives, and one person was injured by elephants. Clearly we need to build healthier relationships between wildlife and communities, with the involvement and support of those most directly affected.
According to government data, in the last five years, 528 elephants have died from ‘unnatural causes’ across India. Of these, around 392 were electrocuted, 73 were killed in train collisions, and 50 fell victim to poaching. In the same period, human-elephant conflicts claimed the lives of 2,853 people. India is a stronghold for elephant conservation, home to nearly 60 per cent of the world’s Asian elephants Elephas maximus, spread across five genetically distinct populations. However, these majestic creatures are facing increasing threats from climate change, habitat loss, and human encroachment. As their traditional habitats shrink, the world’s largest land animals are being forced to venture into new, often unsuitable areas, leading to unusual behaviour and frequent conflict. The rapid expansion of commercial infrastructure is a key reason that elephants find themselves cut off from food supplies and traditional migratory routes and this raises the spectre of extinction.
To protect these iconic animals, it is crucial for us to guarantee elephants a comprehensive landscape-level conservation security that preserves existing habitats and restores the links between fragmented populations.
Weeks after the elephant deaths in Bandhavgarh, one of the three survivors, a young female calf, was found wandering the forest, seemingly searching for her lost family. Local communities spotted her and quickly alerted forest officials. Over the next few days, she was tracked and rescued. Such collaboration offers hope that, despite the challenges and conflicts, collective efforts can ensure a better future for India’s elephants.
