Kerala:
Another horrifying act of cruelty to another jumbo in Kerala has been reported by news agency PTI. The act of inhuman cruelty to a pregnant elephant in Kerala in Silent Valley region has been condemned across the country. A month ago in Kollam district, a young elephant met with the same fate and died of injuries in her mouth. This tragedy happened in the Pathanapuram forest range area under Punalur in Kollam district in Kerala.
In the recent incident which has sent shock waves, an elephant in that Silent Valley was fed a pineapple laden with explosive firecrackers and died standing in the river, news agency PTI had reported earlier. This incident of human cruelty has been reported from the Silent Valley in Attappadi, Kerala. The elephant being unaware of the explosive laden fruit, ingested it only to get her jaw broken severely due to the blast. PTI reported that Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar talked about her miserable state, as she was unable to eat anything after her oral injury. He also pointed out the perpetrator intended to clearly eliminate her, as the possible motive for the misdeed.
While readers wonder what makes human beings commit such cruel, inhuman acts against animals, this is a clear instance of what is wrong with our mindset when it comes to the environment and animals. This tragedy has shaken the conscience of most Indians, as people have taken to social media to share their grief over this horrifying act of cruelty that led to the death of the elephant.
This injury turned fatal for the elephant. On May 27 she died while standing in a river. It was only through the post mortem report which revealed the female elephant was pregnant.
Incidents of animal cruelty put society at large to shame. Emphasising on the need to get immediate action taken against the perpetrator, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar informed PTI that he has directed the forest officials to get hold of the perpetrator and to get strict punitive action taken against him for killing the elephant.
Mohan Krishnan the forest officer was given the task of bringing back the elephant to the shore after her bath in the river. He saw the animal die in front of his eyes. The forest officer experienced the terrible loss and grief after witnessing the pregnant elephant’s suffering and plight, caused by an act of horrifying cruelty. He expressed the same via Facebook through an emotional post detailing how he saw the elephant die in a river. Through his Facebook post he said that the animal had clairvoyance and could foresee her death upon standing in the river. He also posted a photo of the elephant standing in the river before her death. He posted a photo of the elephant, standing in the river, along with his Facebook post.
That a pregnant elephant has been targeted in such a cruel way speaks us to of a greater malaise that requires urgent correction in the society’s collective mindset. Strict and speedy inquiry along with prompt legal action are clearly the need of the hour and this is required to deter people from doing such acts of cruelty in future.
