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Outrage as elephant that ate 'cracker fruit' dies


Wildlife officials in India are investigating the death of a pregnant elephant after it ate a pineapple containing firecrackers.


The incident in Kerala caused outrage after a forest official posted about the death on social media.


It's unclear if it was an accident, who planted the explosives or why. The animal spent days in pain before dying.


Vets tried but failed to save her. India has some 27,000 wild elephants and another 2,500 in captivity.


Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government had taken a "serious note of the killing". Kerala's chief minister says the investigation is focused on "three suspects", reports BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi.


"Two suspects are being interrogated right now. We have not yet made any formal arrests," an official told the BBC.


Earlier the state forestry department had said there was no "conclusive evidence" to link the death to firecrackers, but most experts think the elephant ate what is called a "pig cracker", intended to scare wild boars away from crops. (BBC website)

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