Rogue Elephant Racks Up 22 Kills In 10 Days — Officials Still Can’t Stop It
Image not from story. (Photo by Pedro UGARTE / AFP) (Photo by PEDRO UGARTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Forest officials in eastern India continued their search Monday for a lone elephant that has killed 22 people since Jan. 1 after rampaging through villages in Jharkhand state, according to authorities and local residents.
The deaths have been concentrated in West Singhbhum district near the town of Chaibasa, prompting officials to launch nighttime patrols, drone surveillance, and multiple attempts to tranquilize the animal. Despite those efforts, the elephant has not yet been captured or stopped.
“The attacks by the lone elephant are unprecedented. I don’t remember seeing anything like this in recent years,” said Aditya Narayan, the divisional forest officer in Chaibasa.
WATCH:
A killer elephant — who is at-large — has left a total of 22 people dead over a 10 day period in India.
Details: https://t.co/Q3njFcHsgJ
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According to reports, the elephant is believed to be a young male that became separated from its herd and has since turned extremely aggressive. Forest officials have attempted to tranquilize the animal at least three times, but each effort failed as the elephant moved rapidly through forest corridors and nearby villages.
A first-person account by a forest range officer described the tusker as unusually bold and unresponsive to traditional deterrents such as firecrackers and torches. Large crowds also interfered with a Jan. 10 operation, preventing officers from getting close enough to safely fire a tranquilizer dart.
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