Four cows die after consuming Yellow Allamanda in Thiruvananthapuram

NEMOM: Four cows died after eating the yellow Allamanda plant in Thiruvananthapuram. The cows belonged to Sujitha of Sunil Bhavan in Nellimoodu, Thiruvananthapuram. The cows reportedly consumed a plant called Yellow Allamanda from the house premises. The plant resembles a gramophone and is thus called among Malayalees as ‘Kolambichedi’. Following the incident, a team of veterinary doctors reached the spot and conducted an examination.

The incident took place on Wednesday. The cows, which had come to eat grass in a nearby field after eating Yellow Allamanda, suddenly collapsed and died. One of the cows was 9 months pregnant.

These cows were purchased with an agricultural loan of Rs 3 lakh from the Kerala Gramin Bank. They used to get about 35 litres of milk daily. Sujitha said that she used to repay the bank loan and meet household expenses with the income she received from selling milk. The cause of death will be clear only after the postmortem report is received.

Columbine is an evergreen plant native to Brazil, belonging to the Apocynaceae family. It grows up to three meters tall and has yellow flowers that are 5 to 7 centimetres in diameter. Like poison ivy, its leaves and flowers contain poison.