Yathin S Krishnappa/Wikimedia CommonsAn Indian bull elephant not the rampaging elephant as seen at Bandipur National Park.Over the past two weeks, several villages in the Indian state of Jharkhand have been terrorized by an elephant. The creature appears at night, tearing through vulnerable communities. So far, hes trampled at least 22 people. Officials are now on the hunt for the elephant. They hope to safely capture him and return him to his herd but hes proving to be elusive.The Rampaging Elephant In Jharkhand, IndiaAccording to reports from the Times of India, the elephant attacks began on Jan. 1, 2026, in the Indian state of Jharkhand, and have occurred in the villages and towns of Chaibasa, Kolhan, Saranda, Noamundi, Tonto, and Goilkera.The attacks mostly take place at night, when the young male elephant emerges from the forest and rampages through fields and residential areas. So far, most of his victims have included men who were sleeping outdoors or guarding their fields. But the elephant has also killed three members of a single family, including two young children, as well as a man who was returning from work. Google MapsThe elephant killed a father and his two young children near Goilkera, India.Officials have launched an urgent search for the animal, but so far its been difficult to track it down. After its nightly rampages, the elephant slips back into the forest, where its virtually impossible to locate. And even the elephants daytime attacks have not been consistent over the past two weeks, meaning that no one knows where the creature will appear next. The elephants movement pattern suggests that it is haphazardly running around a [62-mile] circumference across three forest divisions, an official told the Times of India. Accordingly, teams are on its trail.So, what has caused this elephant to go on a rampage?The Theories Behind The Elephants AttacksElephants will attack humans for a number of reasons, including habitat loss, stress from human encounters, and even out of revenge for human actions. In 2022, an elephant in Thailand tore its handler in two after it was forced to work in extreme heat. That same year, an elephant in India trampled a woman to death for an unknown reason then returned to attack her body as her family conducted her funeral. And in 2023, elephants in Malaysia trampled a car after the vehicle ran over one of the herds calves. Whats more, elephants and humans have increasingly clashed in India, where industrialization has driven elephants from their natural habitats and disrupted their migratory paths. This has led to an increase in violent human-elephant encounters, and Jharkhand alone has seen an estimated 1,300 deaths caused by elephant attacks in the last 23 years. Elephants also have fatal encounters with humans: Recently, eight elephants were killed when their herd tried to cross railway tracks in the state of Assam.Bernard DUPONT/Wikimedia CommonsAn elephant foraging along a road in India.But the most recent elephant attacks in India dont seem to have been inspired by revenge or habitat loss. Rather, experts suspect that the rampaging elephant is in musth, or a mating phase during which its testosterone levels spike. This stage, which can last up to 15 to 20 days, can make male elephants more aggressive.The elephant appears to have turned rogue and our focus now is to tranquilize it at the earliest, Chaibasa divisional forest officer Aditya Narayan explained to the Times of India. We are certain it is in musth, which explains its heightened aggression. Were trying our best to control the situation.Officials suspect that the rogue elephant may also have gotten separated from its herd and wandered into human territory. Their goal is to locate the animal and return him to the others. Hopefully, this and the end of the elephants musth phase will help bring an end to its rampage. After reading about the violent, rampaging elephant in India thats killed almost two dozen people in two weeks, discover the story of the Gulabi Gang, Indias all-female vigilante group that wears bright pink saris, carries bamboo sticks, and protects abused women. Or, learn about Mumtaz Mahal, the woman whose death inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.The post A Rogue Elephant In India Has Killed More Than 20 People Since The Start Of The Year appeared first on All That's Interesting.