NEW DELHI, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Wildlife officials in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are awaiting autopsy reports of elephants as the animal's death toll has risen to 10, officials said Saturday.
According to the officials, the visceral samples of the 10 elephants that died in a span of three days in the state's Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) are being sent to the forensic laboratory in the state's Sagar district and the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Uttar Pradesh.
A herd of 13 elephants was found roaming together in the BTR some days back.
Wildlife officials at the reserve said four of the wild elephants were found dead on Tuesday. Thereafter, four others died on Wednesday, followed by two more deaths on Thursday.
One elephant that recovered fully and two other healthy elephants are currently under observation at the BTR.
Earlier samples of the dead elephants were sent to Jabalpur's School of Wildlife Forensics and Health for post-mortem to ascertain the actual reason.
Wildlife officials suspected the elephants died due to the consumption of Kodo millets laced with pesticides.
Reports said the herd of the elephants reportedly destroyed crops around the BTR after which farmers are said to have sprayed pesticides on them.
Apart from wildlife officials and BTR experts, a team of Delhi-based Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are also at the reserve to probe the deaths.
Meanwhile, authorities have buried dead elephants in the open pits at the BTR and used an earthmover to pour sand and salt into them. The wildlife officers placed flowers inside the grave and thus bid farewell to the elephants.
Separately reports said on Saturday a 65-year-old man was killed in a wild elephant attack near the BTR. The incident occurred outside the reserve's buffer zone, in the same region where the 10 elephants had died. ■
