Post- tusker deaths, MP constitutes panel for elephant management

Bhopal: The state forest department has constituted a committee for management of elephants in Madhya Pradesh in the wake of the recent death of ten elephants in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in MP.

The nine-member committee, headed by additional principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF)(wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy, will primarily focus on the development of the landscape and the elephant corridor, and also how to oversee the rescue operation in case the pachyderms land in any kind of dire situation, a senior forest officer said.

“We will study the best practices in elephant management in other states and put in place a system for effective management of the wild elephants in Madhya Pradesh. We will study on how to oversee rescue operations and take precautionary measures (for safety of the wild elephants)”, Mr Krishnamoorthy told this newspaper.

The committee will study the harmonious cohabitation between the local villagers and wild animals in other states which have resident elephants since ages and implement it in Madhya Pradesh to avoid human-elephant conflicts, he said.

A massive awareness campaign will be launched in the forested villages in the state for the purpose.

According to the forest officer, there are currently around 150 elephants in Madhya Pradesh.

All of them have migrated to Madhya Pradesh from Chhattisgarh.

A few herds of elephants have made BTR their habitat.

Ten elephants died in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh over three days since October 29, the first of its kind incident in a wildlife sanctuary in India.

Toxicity report of the viscera of these dead elephants, submitted by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), has suggested that the pachyderms may have died after consuming the fungus-infested ‘kodo’ millet crops.