A pregnant elephant died in Kerala after allegedly consuming a pineapple filled with explosives. The wild elephant strayed into the village near Palakkad last Wednesday. The elephant might have consumed pineapple filled with crackers there.
The explosive exploded in the mouth of a 15-year-old pregnant elephant. The pregnant elephant died in Kerala from the injuries of the crackers. While the wild elephant walked for days with injuries in pain before it went into the river and died standing on May 27th.
How the pregnant elephant died in Kerala
Photos the elephant with the mouth and trunk in the water circulated on social media. The videos showed the elephant standing still in the water. Hence, these disturbing video of the elephant triggered a strong reaction from the people on social media. An outpour of grief and sorrow followed the release of images of a pregnant elephant.
Mohan Krishan, a forest officer posted an emotional note on Facebook. “When we saw her she was standing in the river, with her head dipped in the water. Moreover, he added that she had a sixth sense that she was going to die. So the elephant took the Jalasamadhi in the river in a standing position,” wrote Krishnan, who had been tasked with rescuing the elephant.
Humanity dies 1,000 deaths.
Pregnant elephant brutally killed after fed fruit stuffed with crackers & dies with foetus in her stomach.
‘Called as God’s own country, but no space for revered animal?’Vivek N & Vivek K with details. pic.twitter.com/fT9Nn3aCyp
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 3, 2020
“She didn’t harm a single human being even when she ran in searing pain in the streets of the village,” he wrote.
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“When the pineapple or some other fruit she ate exploded, she would have been shocked/worried not about herself, it must’ve been about the child she was going to give birth to in 18 to 20 months,” Krishan commented further on the incident.
Also, the unconfirmed report says the pregnant elephant might have consumed explosive pineapple twenty days ago. However, forest officials believe this is an intentional act to kill the elephant
Social media reaction
Indian celebrities and citizens protested the killing of the elephant from an alleged explosive pineapple. They have demanded immediate action the culprits.
Celebrities including Virat Kohli, Randeep Hooda, Anushka Sharma, Shraddha Kapoor, John Abraham, and Akshay Kumar have demanded action.
Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala. Let's treat our animals with love and bring an end to these cowardly acts. pic.twitter.com/3oIVZASpag
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 3, 2020
“Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala. Let’s treat our animals with love and bring an end to these cowardly acts,” Kohli tweeted.
A pregnant elephant wandered into a village in Kerala in search of food. What do we humans do?? – we feed her pineapples stuffed with crackers. She died a painful death standing in the river trying to ease the burns in her mouth and tongue. Humans are so cruel. PERIOD #kerala pic.twitter.com/fH0BLxc6ig
— Harish Katta (@harishkatta12) June 3, 2020
Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, too, vented his anger. “Heartbroken, speechless, angry & shocked to read the news about the pregnant elephant in Kerala,” he tweeted.
The investigation into the killing of the elephant
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured they will take strict actions against those responsible for the elephant’s death.
“The forest department is probing the case and the culprits will be brought to book,” Mr. Vijayan said.
According to the Mannarkkad divisional forest officer said that the elephant might have come from Silent Valley National Park’s buffer zone. The officer anticipates the elephant died on a private land 300m from the Thiruvizhamkunnu forest section. “We have registered a case for killing the wild elephant but nobody has been arrested. We are waiting for the postmortem report to find out the exact cause of its death,” he said.
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He added that the elephant might have consumed cracker stuffed pineapple which could have been placed to kill crop-raiding wild animals. Farmers are in the practice of keeping pineapples stuffed with pineapples to kill the wild boars that damage crops. But, torturing, trapping, killing, poisoning, or baiting wild animals is a punishable crime under the Wildlife Protection Act. Hence, the offender can face seven-year imprisonment and a fine up to ₹25,000.
#Elephant Deaths she was pregnant .she wonderd into a village searching for food . locals took a pineapple stuffed it with cracker, she Bileve them she ate it the cracker exploded, she was in pain she died standing in a river . #RIPHumanity pic.twitter.com/Krr9TozfLu
— Afreensiddiqui (@Afreensidiqui) June 3, 2020
Moreover, the forest division has initiated a probe into the incident of the death of a pregnant elephant. Two organizations have announced a cash reward for anyone providing information for the arrest of the offenders.
Wildlife warden of Silent Valley National Park Samuel V Pachuau said that they increased patrolling after the incident.
Communal twist to the killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala
Reportedly, several BJP apologists have given the death of the pregnant elephant in Kerala a communal twist. There is a conflict between social media users regarding the place where the pregnant elephant died. As many quoted a wrong district Malappuram- the Muslim majority areas in their tweet. A score of Indian social media users and sites quoted the incident happened in the Palakkad which according to them is the Hindu-majority area.
In Kerala's Malappuram, ba$tards fed a Pregnant Elephant Fed Pineapple Stuffed with Firecrackers.
She exploded but didn't harm anyone. She went to the river and died quietly.
Now tell me about 100% literacy & who is majority in Mallapuram? https://t.co/lduCv2uUbW
— Arun Pudur (@arunpudur) June 2, 2020
Arun Pudur, a right-wing activist, too chose to write Malappuram district in his tweet giving the incident a communal color.
“In Kerala’s Malappuram, ba$tards fed a Pregnant Elephant Fed Pineapple Stuffed with Firecrackers. She exploded but didn’t harm anyone. She went to the river and died quietly. Now tell me about 100% literacy & who is a majority in Mallapuram?” he tweeted.
https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1268253378649473024?s=20
But, social media users claimed his argument bogus later. But, there were other right-wing activists including Maneka Gandhi who made similar claims in their tweets. Moreover, a score of Indian websites has reported that the Mallapuram district is 80Kms away from Palakkad.