Elephant deaths: MP officials to be sent for training in states with high jumbo population

Indore: Forest officials from Madhya Pradesh will be sent for training in other states having a high population of the pachyderms, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said following the death of 10 elephants in MP's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR).

The move comes as part of the MP government's efforts to enhance measures for the protection of jumbos in the state.

On October 29, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under the Khalil range of the BTR in Umaria district, while four died on October 30 and two on October 31.

CM Yadav has suspended two senior officials of the BTR for lapses after a high-level probe team submitted its reports in connection with the deaths.

Neurotoxin cyclopiazonic acid was found in the visceras of the 10 elephants but it was not a case of `poisoning', a senior forest department official said on Tuesday.

Viscera reports suggested toxicity came from the consumption of large quantities of Kodo millet plants, said Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy who headed a probe panel set up by the government.

Yadav on Tuesday said the state government will make such arrangements that elephants are protected in the forests and there is no harm to the human population due to the pachyderms.

"We will send our officers (for training) in states like Assam, Karnataka and Kerala where the elephant population is high. We are also forming a team of elephant experts," he told reporters.

He said the elephants did not live in the state's forests earlier.

"...but in the changing times, they have started liking the climate of the state. More than 100 elephants are permanently staying in the forests from Bandhavgarh to Umaria," he said.

Yadav said the Madhya Pradesh government will coordinate with the neighbouring states for the protection of elephants and he had a discussion in this regard with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Monday.