Bhopal, Oct 30 (IANS) Three more wild elephants who were critical died early on Wednesday, taking the death toll to seven from four in the core jungle area of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh.

A medical team of wildlife health officers and wildlife veterinarians from Bandhavgarh, and School of Wildlife Forensic and Health, Jabalpur carried overnight operation under the supervision of Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun (Uttrakhand).

However, three more elephants lost their lives. The health of at least three other elephants from the same herd is still critical as they were unable to stand, official sources told on Wednesday.

In the biggest wildlife tragedy in Madhya Pradesh, four wild elephants (three females and one male) were found dead in the forest area under BTR on Tuesday. After the incident, the area was combed with teams and five more elephants were found lying on the ground in unwell condition.

"The actual cause of death will be ascertained after post-mortem and thorough investigation and combing of the area," Madhya Pradesh Chief Wildlife Warden Vijay N. Ambade said.

However, Bhopal-based wildlife and RTI activist Ajay Dubey, demanded a magisterial probe into the incident. He suspects that heavy use of pesticides in the standing crop, particularly paddy which was possibly consumed by the elephants, may have led to food poisoning.

"It is the first case of so many elephants losing their lives in a small jungle patch simultaneously. Deaths are possible due to electrocution or rail hits and sporadic cases of poisoning. But so many elephants getting killed simultaneously feels like a bigger conspiracy,” Dubey said.

Importantly, the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve which houses the densest population of tigers in MP, has become home to a big herd of wild elephants since 2018.

More than 50 elephants originating from the neighbouring district of Chhattisgarh, have reportedly made the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve their permanent habitat. The same area of eastern MP, particularly Shahdol and Anuppur districts have reported growing cases of man-elephant conflicts in the wake of wild herds from Chhattisgarh often damaging their crops.