Significant headway has been made in the investigation into the recent gory death of a pregnant wild elephant in a suspected man-animal conflict in a forest area in Palakkad district in Kerala, the forest department said on Thursday. A Special Investigation Team set up for probing the death of the elephant, which drew widespread condemnation, was questioning several suspects, it said.

The elephant had consumed a pineapple filled with explosives, which exploded in the animal's mouth in the Silent Valley Forest and it died about a week later on May 27.