Palakkad (Kerala): A pregnant elephant died last week after locals allegedly fed her a pineapple stuffed with crackers in Kerala’s Palakkad district.
The incident took place on May 27. Forest officials said the elephant died standing in the river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.
“First, we observed this animal on May 23 when we were informed by locals that an elephant has been roaming around in the private area of the forest. When one of our staff members went to see the elephant, it was observed that the wound in the lower jaw area was exposed. Later, for at least 24 hours the animal was trying to look for water and on May 24 we received information that the animal has come into river Velliyar,” said Wildlife Officer, Silent Valley National Park.
“Even then, the animal did not take any solid food and only took water. It was very weak, so we called a vet. He was of the opinion that it may not be possible to get her back but would see what options were available. Later we were told to observe the animal’s behaviour,” he added.
The Wildlife Officer said they later planned to take the elephant out of the river but by then she had collapsed.
“Today we thought of taking the animal to a safe spot to examine. Anyway, we had very little hope of reviving the animal because it has not been eating for many days. Before we could take the animal out of the stream, it had collapsed and we hope it was a peaceful death,” he said.
The officer informed that two doctors are here at the spot to carry out the post-mortem and after that, the carcass will be burnt.
“The cause for the death is yet to be discovered and further investigation is underway,” he added.
The elephant was seen standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in the water, for relief from the pain.
