Jump to content

Suspect arrested in death of elephant in Kerala, India that ate explosive fruit

Edit links
Checked
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Related articles
Crime and law
Crime and law
Collaborate!

On Friday, Indian officials in Kerala arrested a man in connection with the death of a pregnant female elephant suffering from explosive injuries. Authorities said they believed a fruit filled with firecrackers had exploded in her mouth, damaging her jaw and ultimately leading to her death.

According to wildlife officials, the 15-year-old elephant's injuries were discovered on May 25 after she was observed standing in the Velliyar River. Despite attempts by officials to lure her out using two other elephants, the injured elephant remained in the river and died two days later. An autopsy determined the elephant was pregnant before she was cremated. Citing the elephant's reduced body size, officials estimated she may have starved for up to 20 days or longer. The incident gained media attention after local wildlife officer Mohan Krishnan shared his experience on Facebook. Some people expressed their outrage on social media as the incident became known.

Officials later announced an arrest of a rubber tapper — a man in his forties identified only as "P Wilson" — in the elephant's death while as of yesterday two other suspects were reportedly at large. Initial reports stated the firecracker-laden fruit was a pineapple; NDTV later reported officials, following an investigation, stated it was a coconut. Forest officials suggested the elephant may have tried to eat a "pig cracker" meant to repel wild boars.


Sources

Share this:  E-mail this story Share on Facebook Share on reddit.com Share on LinkedIn.com Share on twitter.com


This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
Retrieved from "https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Suspect_arrested_in_death_of_elephant_in_Kerala,_India_that_ate_explosive_fruit&oldid=4826895"