KOCHI: In a shocking incident, a wild elephant died after cracker-filled jackfruit exploded in its mouth in Kuttampuzha forest area. The carcass of the elephant was found on the farmland of Sasi, a resident of Vellaramkuthu settlement in Kuttampuzha forest area on Friday. The postmortem examination of the carcass was conducted on Saturday. The primary report confirmed that the cause of death was cracker burst.
“The carcass was found on Saturday. Sasi, the landowner had informed us about the incident. The cracker was stuffed inside the jackfruit and the elephant died due to the injury caused by cracker burst,” Malayattoor DFO P Karthick told TNIE.
This is the second incident of elephant death caused by cracker hidden inside fruit in Kerala. Earlier, a pregnant elephant aged around 15 years had died after biting into cracker stuffed inside a pineapple in Silent Valley forest area on May 27, 2020.
The elephant was found standing in Velliyar river and it was unable to eat as the mouth was damaged. The incident had triggered an outrage across the country.