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. The Kerala forest department said on Thursday that “several suspects” were being questioned in connection with the incident. It earlier said there was no “conclusive evidence” to link the death to firecrackers. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government had taken a “serious note of the killing” and tweeted that it would investigate.(BBC)…[+]