The saying that a monster does not come wearing 2 horns, rather it looks like us has been proved right again in light of the recent event where a 15-year-old pregnant elephant died of excruciating pain after she ate a coconut stuffed with firecrackers in Kerala’s Mannarkkad division of Palakkad district.
Initially, the reports suggested that she ate a pineapple, but after a detailed investigation, it turned out that it was actually a coconut laden with crackers, and not pineapple.
What Happened?
The death of the elephant, who was about to give birth in 18 to 20 months, has shaken the entire country. The citizens are anguished by this heinous act where a firecracker stuffed coconut was kept in the way of a hungry elephant.
Netizens took to social media platforms where they spoke up against this inhumane act done against the animal.
The elephant ate the coconut around 20 days before her death and she succumbed to her wounds on 27th May 2020. She died in the Thayamkundu area of Velliyar River located in the Silent Valley in Attappadi with her trunk in the water.
In spite of the excruciating pain and the dreadful trauma that the elephant must have gone through in her final moments, she remained calm and did not cause destruction of any kind whatsoever.
Was The Killing Really Intentional Or Just An Unfortunate Occurrence?
According to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar, the elephant was fed the cracker filled fruit intentionally by the locals in order to kill her.
This comes as a bigger shock as a similar death was reported in April in the Pathanapuram region of Kerala. The elephant, who was found isolated from its herd, was very weak and its jaw was broken, indicating that it had not been able to eat.
However, it is not uncommon for the locals to lay down fruits like pineapples stuffed with firecrackers to scare off wild boars in the area. Hence, it cannot be said for sure if the elephant accidentally ate the fruit kept for boars or it was fed to her intentionally by locals. The investigations on this matter are going on.
But we would like to believe that the locals might have kept it for the wild boars and the elephant mistakenly ate it. We hope this is the case, as otherwise, faith in humanity will be shattered.
Only a thorough, unbiased investigation can reveal this menace.
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Did the Elephant Know Already That She Was Going To Die?
Although the elephant died on 27th May 2020, the incident came to light earlier today after Mohan Krishnan, a section forest officer posted the entire incident on his Facebook profile.
In his post, he wrote, “But I think she had some sixth sense. Everyone was shocked. She took the Jalasamadhi in the river in a standing position.”
This also raises the question if elephants have a premonition or a sense of their death. Elephants are one of the smartest species of mammals on this planet. Legends believe that they indeed have a sense of when they are going to die.
It has already been established by experts that elephants understand the concept of death and mourn when their closed ones die. So is there also a chance that these mighty creatures might have a premonition of death?
In the book “Peace Among the Willows: Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon”, the writer clearly mentions how elephants have a sense of their death.
Similarly, there is another book titled “From Elephants to Einstein: Answers to Questions” in which the writer Rudolf Steiner suggests that they do have a premonition of death.
A theory suggests that when the time of death comes near, the old elephants, who otherwise would slow down their herd, instinctively head to a special place, often referred to as “elephant graveyard” to die alone and in peace.
However, such theories have no scientific data to back them up yet.
The Elephant Waited For Help, But No One Came
The pregnant elephant was in agony for days after eating the coconut stuffed with crackers. Her jaw was disfigured and she was in acute pain.
She stood in the middle of the river with her trunk dipped inside the water to ease her agony. On May 26th, a veterinarian was called to provide the necessary treatment to the Jumbo. But, he returned without treating the poor animal in any way.
The next time a doctor reached there, it was for conducting her post-mortem. It had been too late and she had died already.
This revelation is in sync with many other such cases that take place in our country on a regular basis. Due to the indifference of people, a life that can be saved ends up ignored and when the attention is drawn to the matter, it gets too late.
How Did People React To This Horrible News?
After this matter came to light, the angry citizens took to social media platforms immediately to express their dissent and anger. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are flooded with people voicing their thoughts against animal cruelty and about how humanity has stooped so low, including industrialist Ratan Tata.
This act has brought entire humanity to shame.
A petition has also been started on Change.org against the violence that takes place against these innocent animals in our country, despite laws that protect animal rights.
More than 10,500 people have signed this already and if you believe in animal rights and believe that this act was inhumane, please take two minutes out of your time to sign the petition here.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Hindu, Deccan Herald, NDTV, BBC, Zee News
Find The Blogger At: @TinaGarg18
This post is tagged under: pineapple with firecracker, Kerala, killing of pregnant elephant, standing in water, took a position, intentional killing, investigation, probe, catch the culprits, villagers, April, May, ate the pineapple, wild boars, Ratan Tata, Peta, response, Maneka Gandhi, sense death, danger, elephants, India, humanity, social media, shook the internet, violence against animals, we deserve the pandemic, we deserve coronavirus, nature, Mohan Krishnan, section forest officer post, Facebook, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar, poaching
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