Bandhavgarh elephants died after eating infected kodo millets: Toxicology report

The elephants, part of a herd of 13, were killed between October 29 and October 31, in the reserve in Umaria district

Ten elephants who died near Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, last week were killed on account of eating a surfeit of fungus-infected kodo millet, a toxicology report confirmed on Monday, ruling out foul play in the deaths that shocked the country and raised serious questions about the safety of pachyderms.

Officials inspect the site where an elephant was found dead on October 30. (PTI)

The examination, conducted by the ICAR Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, detected cyclopiazonic acid, a toxic substance produced by some fungi, in all samples collected from the organs of the 10 elephants.

“Cyclopiazonic acid found in fungal-infected kodo millets was detected in all samples of lever, kidney, spleen, heart, lung, stomach, and intestinal contents with concentration above 100ppb (parts per billion). The result indicates that elephants might have eaten large quantities of kodo,” said L Krishnamoorthy, head of the state probe committee set up to investigate the deaths and additional principal chief conservator of forest (APPCF).

The elephants, part of a herd of 13, were killed between October 29 and October 31, in the reserve in Umaria district, Madhya Pradesh. The deaths triggered consternation across the country, with several people and experts expressing concerns that the elephants were poisoned.

However, the toxicology rules out the presence of foreign poisonous elements.

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

Residents of Salkhaniya village, however, alleged local forest officers did not treat the elephants swiftly, even as “they cried for hours in pain”. Officials denied these claims.

Experts, meanwhile, underlined that the elephants could only have been killed if they ingested large quantities of the crop.

“Kodo millet has been reported to develop toxins due to fungus infections of aspergillus and penicillium species. There have been several instances of humans and animals being affected by kodo poisoning,” said an environment ministry official.

To be sure, there is hardly any literature associated with deaths due to kodo millet poisoning, except a March 23, 1934, letter from the range officer to the Madurai working plan officer on the death of 13 wild elephants after they ate kodo millets. Experts said that such deaths are rare.

According to a 2023 research paper led by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), CSIR, the consumption of kodo millet is often found to cause intoxication and poisoning. The grains are frequently infested with aspergillus tamarii kita, which produces a substantial amount of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), which the toxicology report also found.

The symptoms of kodo poisoning were characterised by nausea, vomiting, delirium, depression, intoxication, and unconsciousness, added the paper.

Locals in the vicinity of the reserve said the elephants started trumpeting around 2am on the intervening night of October 28 and 29. However, they said, forest officials treated them only on the afternoon of October 29 and treatments started between 2pm and 4pm by veterinarians, said the villagers.

A local resident Manoj Singh said, “Initially, when they started crying, we thought it was a common occurrence. But then their cries got louder and it continued for hours. We later found out that they had died.”

The government doctor posted at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve Dr Nitin Gupta was allegedly absent from the spot and reached only at 4pm on October 29, said local officials.

He said, “Doctors were called from different places and treatment started after 2pm. But the infection was so serious that six remaining elephants died during treatment.”

An officer, who is not authorised to talk to the media, said, “Many veterinarians were contacted for immediate help at around noon on October 29 but they refused to come as they were busy on Dhanteras. One doctor reached the spot first and started treatment.”

A wildlife expert Ajay Dubey, who is probing the matter independently, has also made the same claims. “The villagers informed me that elephants were creating noise but nobody in the forest paid attention. Similarly, the treatment started after a delay. If the forest officials had started the treatment on time by taking help from elephant experts, they might have been saved,” he added.

Several experts said they were surprised, given that kodo millet poisoning deaths are rare.

“A similar incident took place in 1933 near a tea estate in Tamil Nadu (then) where elephants died after consuming what is suspected to be fungal infested kodo. We know that cattle often fall sick after consuming contaminated kodo. But death is an extreme case. It also needs to be ascertained whether any agrochemicals were used. Kodo is a hardy crop and generally pesticides are not used,” said Soumik Banerjee, a native seed conservationist and researcher. He referred to a correspondence in Indian Forester on the 1933 elephant deaths.

R Sukumar, a veteran ecologist and specialist in elephants who also referred to the 1933 incident said he believed it was most likely a case of natural poisoning from mycotoxin infestation of kodo millet.

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

“They may have migrated in recent years I believe. We are seeing an ongoing pattern of migration of elephants, which started in the late 1980s, to central India from their original habitat in Jharkhand, Odisha, south Bengal and others. There are two probable reasons: One, mining may have caused habitat disturbance in the eastern states or two, climatic changes such as extended dry periods may have also ,” he added.

Oliver King, director, biodiversity (specialises in Kodo millet), MS Swaminathan Research Foundation based in Chennai, said, “Kodo millet historically has had this issue of fungal contamination. This happens when moisture is high in the grain. It is often infested with Aspergillus, especially if the produce is not properly dried. If cattle eat this in large quantities of contaminated grain, it can have hallucinogenic effects. But that depends completely on the quantity of contaminated produce consumed. However, how consuming infested kodo millet can cause death is to be investigated scientifically now,” said.