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.”
The animal died on May 27, while standing in the Velliyar river.
Forest officials brought the elephant’s body ashore and sent it for an autopsy. The animal was then cremated in the forest.
Samuel Pachuau, the Wildlife Warden of the Silent Valley National Park, near Palakkad, said this was a serious crime.
“We are quite certain we will find the perpetrators of this crime, which is in no way acceptable at all,” said Pachuau. Two teams were investigating, he said.
The incident has prompted widespread outrage in Kerala, which features two elephants in its official state emblem.
Animal rights activists have demanded tough action against the culprits and have called for stricter rules to protect wild animals.
“We strongly condemn this cruel act and strongly urge the authorities to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice. We should be protecting and cherishing our wild animals, not inflicting torture on them like this,” said Gajender K Sharma, Country Director of World Animal Protection India.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Twitter that the Kerala state government must bring the perpetrators to justice to preserve its reputation for protecting nature.
Some netizens shared elephant-themed artworks to express their anguish over the animal’s death.
Sharma posted on Instagram: “This is why we need harsher laws against animal cruelty!”
