Explanation:

Around eighteen Asian elephants died in Nagaon district of Assam recently. It is a proposed reserve forest. Prior to this, such mass death of elephants occurred in 2001. Around 21 elephants were poisoned to death in 2001 in the adjoining tiger reserves of Pakke and Nameri across Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

=> On the night of May 12, 2021, eighteen elephants died in the Kundoli proposed Reserve Forest located in Bamuni hillock.

=> The elephants were buried in the same spot after post mortem.

=> The samples of the elephants were sent for microbiological and toxicological examination. This was because there were claims that the elephants may have died due to poisoning of pesticides and insecticides used in Tea gardens.