Kerala: Pineapple filled with firecrackers killed pregnant wild elephant

The gruesome incident came to limelight when a forest officer in Malappuram district shared the details of the horrific incident on his Facebook page.

An elephant that was pregnant died in Kerala, standing in water, last Wednesday after she faced one of the most brutal forms of animal abuse. She ate a pineapple filled with a firecracker, offered to her allegedly by some locals. The fruit exploded in her mouth, leading to the inevitable tragedy.

The elephant had wandered into a village in search of food. Some of the locals fed the pineapple stuffed with crackers to the tusker while it was walking on the streets.  So powerful was the cracker explosion in her mouth that her tongue and mouth were badly injured. The elephant walked around in the village, in searing pain, and in hunger. She was unable to eat anything because of her injuries.

The elephant remained calm though she was under excruciating pain and didn’t create any havoc much to the disbelief of the forest department officials. But in a rare instance, the elephant died at Velliyar River, Malappuram, on May 27, in a standing position with its trunk in the water.

The 15-year-old elephant had stood in the river to feel buoyant so that its mouth and tongue which had exploded could get some form of relief. The incident was brought to light by Mohan Krishnan, Section Forest Officer, Nilambur, on his Facebook page where he had acted as the Rapid Response Team official to rescue the elephant which was in distress. The post has since become viral with more than 1,200 shares. The elephant had allegedly come to the town hoping to get more food so as to care for its calf which was in its womb.

The forest officials brought two captive elephants, who were called Surendran and  Neelakanthan, to lead her out of the river.

After hours of attempts by the officials to rescue the elephant, she died at 4 pm on May 27, standing in water.

During April also, another wild elephant in Pathanapuram in Kollam district had died in similar circumstances. But the latest incident in Palakkad is more touching as in another 22 months it would have delivered a calf elephant.