[NEWS.YAHOO] Indian police have arrested a plantation worker and are hunting two others after a pregnant elephant died after eating fruit laced with explosives, officials said Saturday, in a case that shocked the country.The elephant died in agony last week in the southern state of Kerala, the latest casualty of a growing conflict in South Asia between nature and humans as ever more forest is lost to urban expansion.
Footage of the animal standing in a river for hours with its badly injured mouth and trunk in the water as it slowly weakened went viral, triggering horror online.
P. Wilson was arrested on Friday after he allegedly placed fruits filled with explosives to keep creatures -- mainly wild boar -- away from his rubber plantation.
"The man has admitted that they used the explosive-filled coconuts to target the wild animals," Surendra Kumar, Kerala's chief wildlife warden, told AFP.
Two of his associates were still on the lam, the officer said.
Kumar said the men made several "coconut bombs" in the second week of May, and left them near the plantation boundary.
Officials said it was unclear when exactly the 15-year-old elephant consumed the rigged fruit but it was found injured on May 25, two days before it died.
Forest officials said the earth-shattering kaboom caused severe damage to its mouth, leaving the creature unable to eat or drink for days.
Villagers across India often use explosive or firecracker-filled fruits -— which act like pressure-activated landmines —- as bait to target wild animals that threaten crops and homes.
A similar incident was reported last month in a nearby Kerala district, when a female pachyderm was found with serious mouth injuries.
If convicted, the men could face up to seven years in jail for killing an elephant, a protected animal under Indian wildlife laws.
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