It was reported that the poor villagers in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere often used firecracker or explosive-rigged pineapple - which acted like pressure-activated landmines - to protect their fields and homes from wild animals.
It was heartbreaking to read such news especially when I read that the pachyderm could not eat and drink for days and ended up standing in a river, dunking her trunk and mouth in the water (easing her pain, I believe) for hours, before she slowly weakened and died.
The poor creature died in agony because India has lost huge swathes of forest to urbanisation in recent decades. The loss of habitats forced animals closer to human settlements and led to the increasing number of encounters.
The elephant was left with no choice. She lost her home because of humans. She approached the vicinity of human settlement but she was not welcomed. She was unfortunate to have eaten the explosive-stuffed coconut and died.
That was the end of the story of the 15-year-old elephant. She did not hold grudge towards humans although she lost her home. She did not run amok and harm the humans even though she was injured by the rigged fruit. Despite the damage done to her, she chose to silently stand in the river until she drew her last breath...
P/S: When I wrote this blog, I empathized the poor creature by imagining what she had gone through. Tears welled up in my eyes when I imagined she was straying silently in pain after being injured by the explosive.
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| Sketch of the 15-year-old elephant |
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