Another elephant killed. A poisoned pineapple. Man is slowly becoming if not already, a monster. The anagram of Animals is Man Ails. What has happened in Kerala is another manifestation of this ailment.
Crackers Used Inside Fruits To Kill Elephant
It appears someone has fed a pineapple (with crackers inside) to an elephant. The incident came to light, when the carcass of the pregnant elephant was seen near/ inside a water body. Injured elephants naturally come towards water, experts opine.
Man corners Nature for more Land.
As man increasingly extends the boundaries of his farms/ villages etc, he witnesses more contact with wild animals. Sometimes it is a symbiotic relationship as with wild wolves getting domesticated into dogs. He harnesses the horse, and the bull, milks the cow but cannot stand it when he has to give back.
We are fine with Symbiosis. Man being a parasite is ok, not the other way.
Animals on the periphery of the villages/ farms normally frequent man for easy pickings. Sometimes these excursions are tolerated, but often man get irritated and excited and wishes to see them off if possible, or exterminated if needed. Hence man uses electric fencing. traps and poisoned food.
Crackers insides pineapples are routinely fed to wild boars in Kerala, to prevent them from damaging crops etc. Someone has decided to extend the ‘cure’ to the pachyderm, sadly. Even with wild boars, more humane to explore less cruel ways.
Hail Man is much better than Man Ails
If there is one lesson that Corona has taught us, it is that Mother Nature can recover if Man allows Her to. We also have very positive stories. New Zealand has accorded a ‘person’ status to a river. But we need more such.
Kerala herself is no stranger to environmental sensitivity. The Silent Valley project here was scrapped because of the people’s resistance to the same. That this sad incident of the elephant dying a cruel death happened in God’s Own Country is surely a wake-up call for us all. One of the world’s richest bio-diversity spots is the Western Ghats which also runs through Kerala.
May this land arise from this stupor of putting Nature to sleep, and that too so cruelly. Aam, Aum, Amen, Amin.
