Photos shared on social media showed the elephant standing in the river with her mouth, trunk in water
- "In a tragic incident in Palakkad district, a pregnant elephant has lost its life. Many of you have reached out to us. We want to assure you that your concerns will not go in vain," said the Chief Minister. "An investigation is underway, focusing on three suspects... We will do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice," Mr Vijayan tweeted.
- The wild elephant strayed into a village near Silent Valley National Park in Palakkad last month and ate a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers. It exploded in the elephant's mouth and it walked for days in agony before it went into a river and died standing on May 27.
- Villagers in the region often use firecracker or explosive-filled fruit to protect their fields from wild animals like boar and the horrific practice has been widely condemned.
- Photos shared on social media showed the elephant standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in water, perhaps for some relief from what can only be imagined as excruciating pain.
- The animal may have eaten the fruit 20 days ago and had starved since, officials guessed from her shrunken form.
- Mohan Krishnan, a Malappuram-based forest officer who led attempts to rescue the elephant, first shared the photos in an emotional Facebook post. "When we saw her she was standing in the river, with her head dipped in the water. She had a sixth sense that she was going to die. She took the Jalasamadhi in the river in a standing position," wrote Mr Krishnan. "She didn't harm a single human being even when she ran in searing pain in the streets of the village."
- Earlier today, Prakash Javadekar said the government had taken "very serious note" of the elephant's killing. "We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill," the minister tweeted.
- Though Mr Javadekar's tweet said the incident took place in Malappuram district of Kerala, the elephant died in neighbouring Palakkad.
- Officials are also investigating whether another elephant that died last month after suffering serious mouth injuries including a broken jaw had also eaten fruit packed with explosives.
- The Chief Minister said his government's investigation would also try to address the increased instances of human-wildlife conflict. "Climate change could be adversely affecting both the local communities and animals," he tweeted.
