Bollywood celebrities join outpouring of grief as pregnant elephant dies eating firecracker-filled pineapple that exploded in its mouth
- Outpouring of grief at death of animal thought to have been offered the explosive-laden fruit by a local villager in Kerala, India
- Bollywood celebrities including Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt demand justice and call for stricter laws against animal cruelty
The 15-year-old elephant is thought to have been offered the fruit by a local villager in the Silent Valley National Park. Villagers in the area often use pineapples stuffed with firecrackers as bait for wild boars.
“Her jaw was broken and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple and it exploded in her mouth,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Surendrakumar told the PTI news agency.
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Outpouring of grief in India for pregnant elephant killed by firecracker-filled pineapple
“It is certain she was offered the pineapple filled with crackers to [kill] her.”
A forest officer shared the details of the animal’s death on his Facebook page.
“She trusted everyone. When the pineapple she ate exploded, she must have been shocked not thinking about herself, but about the child she was going to give birth to in 18 to 20 months,” wrote the officer Mohan Krishnan.
“She was frail and weak when I saw her. Her stomach was shrunk. She kept her wounded mouth immersed in water to probably keep away flies and worms.”