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a wild thief elephant exist IndiaEastern States of jharkhand It went on a killing spree for several days before officials continued to hunt the animal, then disappeared.
this Lone bull elephant trampled to death At least 20 people were attacked between January 1 and 9 in the Chaibasa and Kolhan forest areas of West Singhbhum district, home to Asia’s largest sal forest.
forest officials told independent There have been no attacks in the past four days and the elephant remains missing.
A forest department worker was one of the victims of the elephant, which also claimed the lives of young children and elderly villagers.
Chaibasa divisional forest officer Aditya Narayan said: “The movement of elephants is very erratic. No casualties have been reported and no elephants have been sighted in the past four days.”.
“The lone elephant’s attack is unprecedented. I don’t remember seeing anything recently,” he said, adding that the tusker killed 13 people in Chaibasa district and seven in Kolkhan.
The Chaibasa and Kolhan areas of Jharkhand’s western Singhbhum district, about 1,400 kilometers east of New Delhi, are part of the Saranda forest belt.
Mr Narayan said the tusks had been moving through the area and changing locations quickly, making tracking difficult.
The official said the tusks attacked people late at night on the edge of the forest near farmland, where residents were guarding rice stored in fields and barns.
The forest department has deployed around 100 personnel to control the animal and move it to a safer place. Experts from neighboring West Bengal were also invited to bring the elephants back to the forest.
Experts believe the elephant appears to have become rebellious and suffers from mycosis, a cyclic condition in male elephants characterized by increased aggression and surges in reproductive hormones.
Villagers said fear gripped the area, with many families staying indoors, and expressed particular concern for the safety of children and the elderly. Authorities urged residents to avoid forested areas as officials said most attacks occurred in fringe areas.
The lone elephant reportedly killed three members of a family, including children aged six and eight, in an attack in the first week of this year.
Narayan said officials were monitoring villages around the forest, but a lack of photographic evidence and the tusker’s erratic movements and aggressive behavior at night made finding the animal difficult.
A recent study by the Wildlife Institute of India showed that Jharkhand has recorded nearly 1,300 deaths due to elephant attacks in the past 23 years.
India’s environment ministry told parliament earlier this year that about 80 wild elephants were killed by trains across the country between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
In the latest such incident, a passenger train hit a herd of ivory in the northeastern state of Assam in late December, killing eight tuskers, railway authorities said.