COIMBATORE: A team of five veterinarians, who were asked to analyse what led to the death of wild elephants, found that there was no water contamination in the backwaters of the Bhavanisagar dam or soil contamination. They said the chances of pesticide poisoning from agricultural crops are also very less.
A committee that was formed to study the death of wild elephants by the State government has now decided to send biological samples of dead and sick elephants to the Toxicology department of Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) to find out the nature and quantity of the organophosphorus compound (OPC) in the dead female elephants in Pethikuttai reserve forest in Sirumugai forest range.
Five veterinarians headed by A Sukumar, forest veterinary officer of Coimbatore, found that female elephants die more frequently, even though tuskers in Sirumugai eat similar food.
According to sources, at least 14 elephants were found dead in the Sirumugai forest range in the Coimbatore forest division since January 2020. Of them, one had died in the Odanthurai forest and others in the Pethikuttai reserve forest. Pethikuttai reserve forest, a mortality hotspot, had seven deaths due to liver disorders. Of which, two indicated organophosphorus compound (OPC) poisoning in the forensic laboratory reports. But in both the cases, the elephants' stomachs were empty, signifying there was no direct poisoning.
"Backwater of the Bhavanisagar dam is the water source for the elephants and other wild animals apart from cattle. Chances of poisoning in the backwaters are improbable. The dung examined in the field contained fewer prosopis pods, suggesting that prosopis was not the sole food source for the elephants.
Also, we had not found prosopis-related materials in high concentrations during postmortem examinations. Moreover, there was no report of mass deaths of any animals like cattle, bison, deer, birds and other aquatic animals which depend on the reservoir as their dwelling and water source," Sukumar pointed out.
"It is said that the contaminated soil from the viscose area (an abandoned mill), where elephants are found to herd, is a source of toxic materials. However, elephants were found herding inside the site, mostly tuskers. But only weaker females are dying. We could not find the exact population of elephants involved in the migration in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. If we compare the total population involved in migration, the percentage of death is within an acceptable level (ie below 3% to 5%)," Sukumar said.
"In order to rule out OPC poisoning, blood samples and water samples must be tested. Likewise, elephant dung samples should be collected from various forest divisions and a quantitative analysis should also be done to find the concentration of OPC for toxicity profiling. Moreover, a mass deworming programme should be conducted to reduce the parasite load," recommend the veterinary team.
The team has also suggested the committee to conduct environmental toxicology research studies to identify routine pesticides used by farmers to avoid further incidences.
According to a senior official of the committee, "The report from the veterinary team will be sent to TANUVAS."
Meanwhile, a 71-year-old retired camp elephant, Vijayalakshmi, which was under treatment since April 7, died without responding to the treatment at Kozhikamuthi tribal settlement in the Ulanthy forest range in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Wednesday.