Elephant Dies After Eating Firecracker Hidden In Fruit That Exploded In Her Mouth

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Elephant India

A pregnant elephant died in India apparently after eating some fruit containing a firecracker that exploded in her mouth. The incident has prompted a criminal investigation into suspected cruelty toward animals, said Reuters.

The incident drew outrage on social media after a forestry officer, Mohan Krishnan, posted an emotional apology to the elephant on May 30. According to Krishnan, the animal died from eating pineapple or another fruit stuffed with a firecracker.

Meanwhile, Indian Forestry officials said the incident happened on May 23 in Kerala state. Locals there sometimes scatter fruit spiked with firecrackers to discourage animals from damaging crops.

“We only know that the injury (to the elephant) was caused by some explosive substance,” forestry official Sunil Kumar said. The perpetrators, he said, could face animal cruelty charges that could bring fines or even a jail term.

The poor elephant was pregnant

Sadly, the animal stood in the river for hours after the blast. Moreover, it apparently was trying to get relief from the cool water for its badly wounded mouth and tongue.

India has the world’s largest population of the Asiatic elephant. However, they are classified as an endangered species. Incidents of human-animal conflict are not uncommon in India. Elephants often stray into human settlements hunting for food.

The pregnant elephant had wandered out of the local Silent Valley National Park in search of food when the incident occurred, forestry officials said.

They later found the elephant trying to cool herself in a stream. But as locals tried to heave it out of the water to take it to a treatment center, the animal collapsed and died.

“Sorry sister,” Krishnan, who witnessed the elephant’s death, wrote in a Facebook post. “With her mouth and tongue destroyed in the explosion, she paced around hungry without being able to eat. She must have been more worried about the health of the child inside her than about her own hunger.”

Twitter mourns over the elephant’s killing

Ever since the news broke on the internet, people are expressing their sorrow over the incident. A trend #RIPHumanity is trending over Twitter. People are angry about how animals are abused in India.

Meanwhile, Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi also raised his voice and said, “God will do justice insha Allah.”

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