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Netizens mourn pregnant elephant that ate firecracker-filled fruit

The heartbreaking death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala, India has sparked huge outrage, especially on Twitter. The elephant died after eating a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers, allegedly placed by some locals.

The wild elephant had left the forests of Silent Valley in Palakkad district, wandering into a nearby village in search of food where she ate the pineapple. The fruit exploded in her mouth and left her in searing pain as she walked around the village for days, unable to eat anything because of her injuries. She eventually died standing in a river.

The incident has sent shock waves through social media, with thousands of people calling for strong action against the perpetrators. On Twitter, several people also shared sketches and illustrations as a way to apologise for the heinous act of animal cruelty.

Officials suspect that the elephant ate the pineapple either in the end of April or the beginning of May. “We don’t know when the incident happened. But because of the starvation and shrinking of the elephant, we suspect that it would have happened around 20 days ago,” forest officer Aashique Ali U told NDTV.

Forest officials got to know about the elephant on May 25, two days before she died. They brought two captive elephants, called Surendran and Neelakanthan, to lead her out of the river where she stood with her mouth and trunk in water, perhaps for some relief from the pain. After unsuccessful attempts to lead her out, the elephant died at 4 pm on May 27.

Police have now launched an investigation into the case and filed a First Information Report against unknown persons. No arrests have been made so far.

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