Source: Twitter.com
On 27 May, a pregnant elephant was found dead standing in a river in Kerala, India which sparked outrage on social media.
The elephant had apparently eaten a fruit with firecrackers set up by locals which then exploded in her mouth, causing the slow gruesome death of it.
The elephant was initially found injured on 23 May by local forest officers.
However, she moved away when the officers tried to immobilize her for treatment.
The elephant was found again two days later standing in a river but the officers could not use the tranquilizer in water as she might drown.
The pregnant elephant sadly passed away with her unborn child after the explosive fruit had fractured her jaw, resulting in her not being able to eat.
The story of the innocent death of the elephant went viral quickly and many netizens was fury and riled up.
Artists worldwide flooded the Internet with artworks of the elephant and her baby in order to pay tribute on how inhumane the world has been to them.
Many of the artworks portrayed the reality of what was done to her.
Artworks by netizens to pay tribute to elephant
Source: Twitter.com / Facebook.com
A handful of Bollywood celebrities like Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda, Akshay Kumar, and Alia Bhatt even took onto social media to seek justice for the elephant and demanded stricter animal cruelty laws.
“What happened with that elephant is heartbreaking, inhumane and unacceptable! Strict action should be taken against the culprits,” expressed Akshay Kumar via Twitter.
Akshay Kumar's Tweet on the death of the elephant
Source: Akshay Kumar's Twitter
Meanwhile, a petition called, ‘Justice for Voiceless Soul’, was rolled out as well to serve justice for the mistreatment of wildlife animals by humans.
'Justice for Voiceless Soul' Petition
Source: Change.Org
Currently, over 2 million people have signed the petition.
As of today, a man name, P Wilson, has been arrested for the involvement of the elephant’s death.
According to Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar, Wilson, who is in his forties, allegedly handled explosives, and also assisted others.
The forest minister announced that more arrests will take place soon.