Guwahati, April 13 -- An alarming incident in Assam's Golaghat district has brought renewed focus on the impact of human-generated pollution on wildlife, after a young wild elephant died from ingesting plastic waste.

The incident occurred on January 12 at Numaligarh Tea Estate, located near the ecologically sensitive Deopahar Reserve Forest and Nambor-Doigrung Wildlife Sanctuary, but came to light following a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by activist Dilip Nath.

According to the post-mortem report, the eight-year-old elephant showed no external injuries or signs of physical trauma. However, it had consumed large quantities of plastic waste, leading to severe gas formation and disruption of its digestive system, ultimately resul...