January 14, 2026 l By Stephen — Dalena Reporters
NEW DELHI, India — Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have launched a major operation involving more than 100 forest and wildlife officers to track down a wild bull elephant that has killed at least 20 people over the past several days in a rare and deadly series of attacks on local communities.
Officials said on Wednesday that the elephant believed to be in musth, a periodic condition marked by heightened testosterone levels that can trigger extreme aggression has been roaming the Chaibasa and Kolhan forest areas of West Singhbhum district, part of the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve. “This is unusual ... we have put the entire area on alert and asked villagers not to step out unnecessarily,” Divisional Forest Officer Aditya Narayan told Arab News.
Chief Forest Conservator Smitha Pankaj confirmed that the animal has not yet been sighted but noted that its behaviour during musth likely underlies the spate of deadly encounters. “This attack has happened when the testosterone level of elephants is at its peak,” she said, emphasising the difficulty in predicting the animal’s movements.
Local activists and conservationists have linked the fatal incidents in part to human encroachment into elephant habitats, a growing problem across India as agricultural expansion and settlement growth shrink traditional wildlife corridors. Forest rights activist Rishikesh Singhdev told Arab News that longstanding policies allowing settlement within forest areas have disrupted historical elephant migration routes, increasing the likelihood of conflict between humans and wildlife.
The Singhbhum Elephant Reserve — designated to protect both elephant populations and the landscape they move through — has faced rising pressure from rapid population growth and land conversion. Singhdev said that as elephants lose access to food and traditional paths, “they move into villages and farmlands, and the risk of deadly encounters rises.”
Villagers in affected communities have been living in fear, with many restricting outdoor movement after dusk, complicating daily life and local economic activity. The state government has reportedly warned residents to remain vigilant and to report any sightings immediately to forest officials.
While wildlife departments search for the rogue elephant, conservation experts have called for longer-term strategies that balance human safety with ecological preservation including restoring habitat, protecting migratory corridors and increasing awareness of elephant behaviour patterns. They warned that without such measures, similar deadly incidents could become more frequent.
The current operation represents one of the most serious wildlife management challenges in the region this year, underscoring broader tensions between expanding human populations and India’s rich but vulnerable biodiversity.