Second Elephant Death Emerges From Kerala Likely Due To Crackers

A day after the tragic death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala that created a massive outrage across the country, a second elephant death has emerged from the state. 

Yes, another similar incident has come to light, where a young female elephant in Kollam district reportedly died of injuries in her mouth a month ago, news agency PTI reported.  

As per NDTV, a post-mortem report shows that this young elephant suffered jaw fractures that "could have been after consuming something," but nothing is confirmed yet on it. Meanwhile, forest officials say that a chemical analysis report is awaited on this matter.

"We suspect it to be crackers," a senior forest official told NDTV. Highlitening about the young elephant's death, officials found her near a stream in the Pathanapuram forests. 

"She was very weak and we could not tranquilise her. We did try to give her some medication but she moved away a few kilometers. The next day, she had collapsed," a senior forest official told NDTV.

Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in a statement said, “Environment Ministry has taken a serious note of the death of the elephant and has sought complete report on the incident. Stern action will be taken against the culprit(s),” he said.

“The injury was already a few days old when we saw the elephant for the first time. So we have not been able to pin-point the place where the injury was sustained. That’s the limitation we are facing,” said K K Sunil Kumar, divisional forest officer, Mannarkkad. 

After the death of the pregnant elephant, who died after eating a pineapple filled with firecrackers, there has been an outpour of grief on social media. Photos and videos on social media showed the elephant standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in water.

Sadly, she died in that position. The elephant had strayed into a nearby village in search of food.