Home CATEGORIES Animal Welfare #RIPHumanity: Pregnant Elephant Dies After Eating Fruit Stuffed With Crackers

#RIPHumanity: Pregnant Elephant Dies After Eating Fruit Stuffed With Crackers

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A pregnant wild elephant died tragically in the Silent Valley Forest in Attappadi Reserve Forest in Kerala. The giant was allegedly fed a pineapple stuffed with crackers, which burst in its mouth as it chomped on it.
“Her jaw was broken and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple and it exploded in her mouth. It is certain that she was offered the pineapple filled with crackers to eliminate her,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar told PTI.
The issue of the pachyderm’s tragic death in Silent Valley came to light after Mohan Krishnan, a forest officer, posted an emotional note on his Facebook page, narrating the death of the elephant in the waters of the Velliyar River.

Citizens Condemn the Act

The citizens across the country have condemned the tragic death of the giant. The outraged citizens have started a petition demanding a criminal charge against those who were responsible for the incident on Change.org.
Industrialist Ratan Tata took to Twitter and compared the killing of the elephant to a mediated murder.
Indian Cricket Team Captain Virat Kohli condemned the incident on Instagram.

 

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Appalled to hear about what happened in Kerala. Let’s treat our animals with love and bring an end to these cowardly acts.

A post shared by Virat Kohli (@virat.kohli) on

Following him, other cricketers including Suresh Raina and Rishabh Pant also expressed their dismay over their social media profiles.

Bollywood actors including Suneil Shetty and Akhsay kumar spoke against the incident on Twitter.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act, capturing, trapping, poisoning or baiting of any wild animal or even attempting to do so carry a fine of up to ₹25,000 or a jail term of up to seven years, or both. Despite the law, in some parts of Kerala, locals use crackers, sometimes mixed with food, to chase away wild animals including wild boars that ruin the crop.

Need to Protect the Elephants

Elephants are an important keystone species without whom the biodiversity of a region may get negatively affected. The movement of elephants is essential to ensure that their populations are genetically viable. The giant also helps to regenerate forests on which other species, including tigers, depend.
Man elephant conflict has risen in the last few years with humans tapping into the forests for tourism and economic purposes causing habitat loss for the giants. This has led to elephants straying to civilization and ruining the crops of farmers, making people resentful towards the pachyderms.
The behaviour displayed by the person who fed the elephant with the fatally stuffed fruit could be an extension to the said resentment. However, this does not justify the actions of the said person.
The earth and its resources do not belong to humans alone. Every life that exists on the planet matters, and should be protected. It is a responsibility of every citizen of the world to respect every life and figure out a way to coexist sustainably with nature.

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