Hunt for killer elephant on the rampage in India
- - Hunt for killer elephant on the rampage in India
Samaan LateefJanuary 13, 2026 at 7:28 PM
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Elephant on the rampage in the Indian state of Jharkhand
A hunt is underway for a single-tusked elephant that has killed at least 20 people in India, forcing villagers into lockdown.
The deaths took place across the forest villages of the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, mostly occurring at night between January 1 and January 9.
Most of the victims were farmers who were attempting to protect their paddy crops when the elephant rampaged through forests and settlements.
The killing has spread panic across the region already affected by a communist insurgency. More than 100 forest personnel have been deployed in the search, equipped with high-resolution drones and tranquilliser rifles.
Kuldeep Meena, the Divisional Forest Officer, said the immediate priority was to locate the unpredictable animal, capture it safely and return it to the wild.
“It’s first time so many deaths have been caused by a single elephant in Jharkhand,” Mr Meena said.
Communist insurgency poses further risk
Officials face two big challenges in locating the animal: large crowds repeatedly converge to catch a glimpse of it, and security risks posed by the Naxals, a communist insurgency group that has operated in the region for decades.
Because of the Naxals, night-time operations are highly risky for personnel. It is also the time when the elephant is most aggressive.
“One of our biggest difficulties is crowd control,” Mr Meena said. “People rush towards the elephant to shout, film and take selfies, which puts them in danger and makes it harder for us to move in safely. At the same time, this is a Naxal-affected area, so security constraints also limit where and when our teams can operate.”
He said the elephant had been in the Kolhan forest after the first fatality on January 1, but moved into the Chaibasa range along the Odisha border on January 6.
“It is extremely difficult to track because it is constantly on the move, covering 15 to 20 kilometres in a single night.”
There have been no casualties for the past three or four days, suggesting the elephant may have crossed into Odisha. It was operating close to the border, officials said. The entire area had been placed on high alert to prevent further loss of life and property.
Aggressive mating phase
Officials believe the animal is young and in its mating phase, when male elephants experience heightened aggression owing to elevated testosterone levels.
“During this period, elephants often break away from their herds and behave unpredictably for several weeks,” Mr Meena said.
The elephant population in Jharkhand, home to Asia’s largest Sal forest belt, has fallen by 68 per cent from 688 in 2012, largely because of poaching and accidents.
Despite declining numbers, incidents of human-elephant conflict have been rising in the region for years, driven by shrinking forests caused by construction, habitat fragmentation and increased human settlement along elephant corridors.
The Indian government has announced Rs 4 lakh (£38,000) compensation for the families of those killed and Rs 1.5 lakh for the injured. Villagers have been urged to stay out of forest areas, avoid night patrols of their fields and report sightings immediately.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
