Her jaws shattered by a firecracker explosion inside the mouth, a pregnant elephant stood with her trunk dipped in the Velarayi river in Kerala for two days before life ebbed agonizingly out of her. The horrifying death of an elephant, who bit on an explosives-laden pineapple kept in the fields to ward off wild boar, has sparked massive outrage in India, with many top politicians and celebrities taking to social media to express their shock over the tragedy.

The beginnings of the gruesome incident came to light on May 23, just outside the Silent Valley National Park, when forest officials spotted an elephant near a water source. The creature was obviously in distress and a veterinarian was called for.

His prognosis was grim: a two-week-old wound in the mouth, teeming with maggots and likely excruciating pain. The elephant died in sitting posture in the river on May 27, her mouth and trunk immersed in water, the only way she thought she could have relieved at least some of her pain.

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“We are suspecting that the elephant fell prey to the explosive snare used to fend off wild boars. But there is no evidence now to suggest that it was intentionally fed such an explosive,” a forest officer was quoted as saying by The News Minute.

The autopsy revealed the immediate cause of death to be fluid in the lungs due to drowning and severe sepsis in the mouth. The elephant had not eaten in two weeks.

Read more: yahoo