A month after the death of a pregnant elephant died after eating a pineapple stuffed with explosives in Kerala, a similar incident happened with a five-year-old elephant at Attappady in Palakkad district. The elephant had a broken jaw and died on Friday night, July 3.
Forest officials at Veetikkundu in Agali forest range found the elephant a day before it died. Unable to eat anything, the forest officials suspect that the elephant may have bitten into a fruit stuffed with explosives,The News Minutereported.
“There are three possibilities that could have led to the animal’s death. There were injuries in the elephant’s mouth, and it could be because the animal consumed explosives stuffed in coconut or some fruit. It had a tumour in the stomach and was also suffering from pneumonia,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wild Life) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumaras told PTI.
The elephant possibly strayed from the neighbouring Tamil Nadu forests, the official said. The post-mortem was conducted on Saturday morning, July 4.
Dr Arun Sakaria, Chief Forest Veterinary Officer, said, “The animal had a fractured mandible (lower jaw), had a split tongue and was suffering from pneumonia. It also had a tumour in the abdomen. We have collected the samples and sent them for forensic tests. Samples have also been submitted for a toxicology test.”
Dr Arun said that although there were no external injuries, the possibility of the elephant consuming an explosive-laden fruit, which could have exploded in its mouth, was not being ruled out.
Forest officials claimed that they were informed about the elephant by people from tribal hamlets in the area.
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