We are shocked and horrified to hear the news about a pregnant elephant who died in Kerala after ingesting firecracker laced pineapple. From wildlife activists, artists, and celebrities to career politicians, all have expressed their solidarity and regret over the animal’s tragic and cruel death. The issue of course has been polarized by people with vested interests and an entire state is blamed for the killing of the elephant.
However, amongst these noisy accusations and blame game, we have forgotten the real reason behind all these problems, which is human greed. Ever since we, the homo sapiens, spread from Africa to other continents we have wiped out species like mammoth, mastodon, saber-tooth tigers, and many other species by hunting them for food and other resources. The extinction of species has carried on to this day so much so that we had to reserve special areas like wildlife reserve and sanctuaries for the conservation of animals and plants. We are even credited to the wipeout of other human species like the Neanderthals. If you find it hard to believe just remember that we fought two world wars and evidence of ethnic cleansing is aplenty in Myanmar, Iraq, Syria, and other conflict-ridden areas because of our greed and inability to share resources.
Data tabled in Indian parliament shows that there has been a rise in man-animal conflict all over India. According to environment ministry, elephants and tigers were responsible for maximum human deaths from 2014-2017. But can we really blame them? It is us who have encroached on their forest lands in the name of development. We have cleared forests for farming, construction of houses, industries, and various other activities. Chunks of reserved areas are handed over to mining companies, often illegally for our never-ending need for resources. These same resources are needed to make our fancy vehicles, gadgets, beautiful houses, generating 24-hours electricity and many other comforting things that we take for granted.
After taking away their homes, we play the innocent victim and remain clueless as to why the animals venture beyond their borders. And then, we comfortably tweet from our homes, regretting the death of one elephant.
International Journal of Research (IJR) 