the big story

The death of an elephant in Kerala

First, the numbers: India’s case tally is 226,713 and the number of deaths is now 6,363. A Chinese data model predicts we will add 15,000 cases per day by mid June. Maharashtra reported 123 deaths in 24 hours—the highest number on record.

TLDR: An elephant in Kerala ate a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers, and died a slow and painful death. What seemed at first to be a horrific act of cruelty has since revealed an entire economy built on killing wildlife—not just to protect farmland but to also trade in their meat.

Did someone feed her the pineapple?

No one knows exactly who did what to this elephant. But there have been a number of such incidents involving such crude explosives. One wildlife officer told Indian Express, “In the forest fringes, there have been reports of crackers and country-bombs being used to trap and kill pigs and other wild animals. It could be that the elephant accidentally ate it.” 

While a pineapple was used in this case, these kinds of explosives are usually wrapped in meat, and called ‘meat bombs’.

What’s a ‘meat bomb’?

Meat bombs are made using cheap gunpowder and gelatin sticks otherwise used to make firecrackers. They are wrapped in animal parts like intestines to attract the wild animals. And they are far cheaper and easier to acquire than guns—costing between Rs 500 and 1,000 per bomb.

What do they use these bombs for?

They are typically used by farmers to protect their farmland from foraging wild boars, elephants and other wildlife. For example, in Goa, they are used to hunt leopards, mouse deer and even monitor lizards. They are also used to kill wild boars to eat and/or sell their meat.

Wild boar meat is a thing?

Yes, and it is highly prized. Bodybuilders, for example, believe it enhances their physical strength. In Karnataka, the hunting of wild boars and deer is an open secret—with poachers soliciting ‘orders’ on social media: 

“The meat of deer and boar is sold at Rs 400 per kg. Even the skin of the animal is traded. As most of the customers are aware about the hunting, the distribution of meat happens systematically…  Poachers go in a group of five to six members late in the night to nearby forests. After a kill, every individual gets their share, also known as pal.”

Point to note: According to a recent study, poaching for meat has significantly increased during the lockdown—and the number of reported incidents rose from 35 to 88. Animals were primarily killed for their meat, rather than for export since movement of all goods had ceased.

“We feel this (increased poaching) is because more people ventured into forests to hunt for local consumption — not because of lack of food, as government has taken care of that, but may be to supplement meals with meat.”

So this is about poaching…

Most likely, but farmers also use such bombs to protect their farmland. Deforestation forces elephants and other herbivores farther into human territory in search of food. Farmers have also taken pastures traditionally used by elephants for grazing. They use everything from snares to electric wires to bombs to keep the pachyderms at bay.

And there is a new kind of farmer in India, as one expert explains:

“The new-age farmers are rubber barons who purchase land in fringe areas, because it is cheap. They are businessmen first, farmers second. They are not attached to the forest buffer zone in any emotional way… In market-intensive farmlands, every penny counts. And a giant mammal is a stumbling block to their ease of doing business.”

And it’s not just Kerala…

Nope. Wildlife are being killed across India, and for a variety of reasons.

• Twenty-four tigers and 110 leopards choked to death over the past nine years—thanks to wire snares laid out to keep out foraging herbivores.

• Between 2014 and 2019, 490 elephants died due to electrocution, poaching and poisoning—the highest numbers recorded in Assam, West Bengal and Odisha.”

• Two weeks ago, three poachers were arrested for using a country bomb to kill boars in Periyanaickenpalayam forest range near Coimbatore. 

• Just on Tuesday, the forest department personnel in Madurai fined poachers Rs 1.8 lakh for selling wild boar meat from a Tamil Nadu tiger reserve. 
• Exploding elephants aren’t new either. In December 2018, a young elephant was found dead and bleeding from its mouth in Odisha. (Warning: the previous link includes a highly disturbing photo).

What can we do??

The government can crackdown on the nexus between poachers and forestry officials—who often work hand-in-glove, as in the Odisha case. Create more humane ways to protect farmland. Example: bio-fencing in Uttarakhand. Reform the Wildlife Protection Act, and make it more punitive. But none of this matters without a long term strategy that conserves forests and wildlife—develops more sustainable livelihoods for those who rely on them.

Like that’s going to happen…

Environmental Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted, “This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill.” The evidence suggests otherwise. While the country was in lockdown, the government proposed new rules where Big Business can duck any assessment of the potential damage caused by their projects—which used to be necessary for approval. And that’s a recipe for a lot more firecrackers and dead elephants.

The bottomline: This sand sculpture is the perfect symbol of India’s wildlife. Beautiful, fragile... and soon to be swept away by the tide of human greed.

The reading list

• Indian Express has details of the case.
• Mint reports on the human-wildlife conflict in Kerala.
• The News Minute has the best reporting on the use of explosives to kill animals. 
• Times of India reports on how wire snares are choking wild animals across our reserves.
• Quartz has the unintended (or not) environmental impact of the recent economic stimulus package—that incentivises agriculture.
• Down To Earth has more on the nexus between poachers and forest wardens.
• These 2019 Print and Huffington Post pieces explain why the Modi government has been a disaster for India’s environment—and has never been punished for it.