A pregnant elephant died in this Wednesday after a group of locals fed it a pineapple filled with firecrackers in the Malappuram district of Kerala. The firecrackers exploded in her mouth, leading to the inevitable tragedy. The elephant had left the forests of the Silent Valley in Palakkad, and meandered into a nearby village in Malappuram, where she was attacked by the locals. The cracker explosion was so severe that her tongue and mouth were severely injured. Unable to eat anything because of her injuries, she walked around the village in searing pain and hunger. The elephant eventually walked upto the Velliyar River and stood there with her mouth and trunk in water to get some relief from the pain. Even though the forest officials brought two captive elephants to lead her out of the water, she didn’t comply. The poor animal died on the same day, standing in water. She was later taken back inside the forest and cremated.
Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar has told NDTV that a high-level team has been formed to investigate the heinous murder.
Many celebrities, including, Anushka Sharma, Shraddha Kapoor, Randeep Hooda and others took to social media to condemn the incident, demanding stricter laws against animal cruelty. The outrage was joined by BJP MP and animals rights activist, Maneka Gandhi, who urged the government for action. Speaking to ANI, Maneka Gandhi said, “It is not an incident. It is a murder. A pregnant elephant was fed a pineapple filled with a bomb that exploded its mouth. Malappuram is very famous for incidents like this. It is the most violent district in the whole of India,”
Meanwhile, Human Society International-India (HSI), an organisation working against animal cruelty offered ₹ 50,000 to anyone who would help in tracking down the culprit. Any information about the case can be shared over the phone at +917674922044 or mailed to india@hsi.org.
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