India outrage after pregnant elephant dies eating ‘firecracker fruit’

Wildlife officials in India are examining the death of a pregnant elephant after it consumed a pineapple carrying firecrackers.

The tragedy in Kerala provoked outrage after a forest official posted about the death on social media, the BBC reported. The animal spent days in pain before dying.

Vets attempted but failed to save her. India has some 27,000 wild elephants and another 2,500 in captivity.

The 15-year-old elephant, who was two months pregnant, seemingly deviated into a village near the Silent Valley National Park in Palakkad district last week and ate the pineapple.

In a Facebook post, forest official Mohan Krishnan said the firecrackers erupted in the animal’s mouth and the elephant walked for days in pain before dying on 27 May, standing in a river.