Bandhavgarh elephant deaths: Toxicology report rules out intentional poisoning, points to fungus in kodo millet plants

The lab had analysed samples of the liver, kidney, spleen, heart, lungs, stomach, and intestinal contents of the elephants.

“Presence cyclopiazonic acid was detected in all pooled samples. Approximate concentration of cyclopiazonic acid detected in the sample was above 100 ppb. Further screening of all the samples is being made to estimate the exact concentration… The results indicate that the elephants might have consumed large quantities of kodo plant/grains,” the report read.

The report advised a “survey and destruction of the fungal infected kodo crop residue as well as avoiding the entry of domestic and wild animals into such fields”.

It also called for raising “awareness among farmers and livestock owners in and around BTR” regarding the fungal infection of the crop. “Detailed study should be conducted on cropping and ambience in and around BTR, etc,” the report said.

According to a 2023 research paper titled ‘Potential Risk of Cyclopiazonic Acid Toxicity in Kodua Poisoning’, published in the Journal of Scientific and Technical Research, the kodo millet is mainly cultivated in dry and semi-arid regions. But sometimes, “environmental conditions like spring and summer strike as being suitable for a certain kind of poisoning, which leads to greater economic crop loss”.

According to the paper, “CPA (cyclopiazonic acid) is one of the major mycotoxins associated with the kodo millet seeds causing kodo poisoning, which was first recognised during the mid-eighties.”

“Millets are more prone to fungal infection, followed by bacterial and viral; these infections adversely affect the grain and fodder yield. Ergot is a parasitic fungal endophyte that grows in the ear heads of various blade grass, most frequently on kodo millet. Consumption of such kodo grains is often found to cause poisoning,” the paper said.