Four wild elephants died on Wednesday after falling ill at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, The Indian Express reported. This took the toll of tuskers who have died at the reserve over the past two days to eight.

On Tuesday, four elephants were found dead at the protected forest reserve in the Salakhaniya Beat of Khitauli and Pataur core ranges, the newspaper quoted unidentified officials of the state wildlife department as saying. Five more elephants were found lying on the ground in a critical state.

Four of the unwell tuskers died while being treated on Wednesday. The herd that was affected had 13 members. While four were healthy, one remained under treatment.

The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in the state is home to a population of elephants that migrated from Chhattisgarh in 2018, according to the newspaper. The elephants can be spotted in the core and buffer zones of the reserve.

On Wednesday, unidentified state wildlife department officials told The Indian Express that an investigation had begun on whether the deaths of the elephants over 48 hours were accidental or intentional.

“There is an investigation into whether this was a case of poisoning,” the newspaper quoted the officials as saying. “There are some signs but we can only say for sure when the post-mortem report comes in.”

The officials added that an assessment was being conducted to determine whether the deaths were accidental because a few Kodo seeds were found at the site. The millet seeds can become dangerous if contaminated with a fungus that produces a toxic substance called cyclopiazonic acid, NDTV reported.

“[We] are probing if the elephants ingested them and died,” the officials said, according to The Indian Express. “We are questioning villagers to see if there was some conflict with the elephants in the past, which may have played a role.”

The investigation was being conducted within a 5-kilometre radius of where the bodies were found.

A three-member team from the National Tiger Conservation Authority was also in Bandhavgarh to look into the deaths, NDTV reported.

The authority operates under the Union environment ministry. It is tasked with protecting endangered animals and the implementation of Project Tiger, a conservation effort that began in 1973.

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