Authorities in Eastern India are urging residents to stay indoors after an elephant killed an estimated 20 people within ten days, and it’s still on the loose.
The new year was rung in with horror when a young male elephant trampled villagers in Chaibasa, India, on New Year’s Day 2026.
The massive creature continued its rampage across neighboring areas in the following days, killing a reported total of at least 20 people, as per The Independent. The outlet claims young children and the elderly are among its victims.
TMZ states that, in one instance, a couple and their two children were sound asleep in the village of Babaria when the tusked titan took their lives, stomping them to death.
Elephant kills at least 20 in deadly rampage
Officials stepped in to tranquilize the animal and halt its deadly assaults, but their efforts were repeatedly thwarted. The elephant even killed a professional animal handler sent in to solve the problem, adding to the death toll.
Experts say the creature’s movements are unpredictable, and they aren’t sure what’s causing its aberrant behavior. Some hypothesize the elephant is in musth, a hormonal condition that raises testosterone in males, usually marked by aggressive behavior.
Male elephants periodically go through a hormonal phase called ‘musth,’ characterized by aggressive behavior – and some experts think this could be responsible for the killer elephant’s rampage in eastern India.
“The elephant’s movement is very erratic. There have been no reported injuries and deaths in the past four days, and the elephant has not been seen,” Aditya Narayan, Chaibasa divisional forest officer, said in a statement.
“The attacks by the lone elephant are unprecedented. I don’t remember seeing anything in the recent past.”
Officials are teaming up with local villagers to help locate and prevent the elephant from taking any more lives. CBS reports that search teams are on the lookout, using drones to scan the forests for any sign of its presence.
Village leader Pratap Chachar told the AFP that residents are abandoning their homes and crops out of fear, saying local police are sticking around to help.
Unsplash.com: Omkar RaneIndian Elephants, like many other animals, are increasingly coming into contact with humans as human settlements continue to encroach on their natural habitats.
The creature hasn’t been sighted in days, leaving locals hopeful that its reign of terror might finally be over.
Elephants are increasingly coming into contact with humans due to settlements encroaching on their natural habitat. Other animals are also facing similar challenges throughout the world, such as the California brown bear, one of which has made its home under at least two houses in an Altadena neighborhood over the last month.
