Rogue Elephant Kills 17 Villagers, India Responds by Stopping Trains
A brutal conflict is unfolding in eastern India. But it is not a war between people. It is a violent clash between humans and elephants. Over the past two decades, nearly 1,300 people have died in elephant attacks in the state of Jharkhand alone. Dozens of elephants have also been killed. The government’s response to the latest bloodshed suggests trains may play a central role.
Jharkhand has recorded 1,300 human deaths from elephant attacks over the past 23 years. The violence is accelerating. According to the Times of India, “Jharkhand has reported a staggering loss of 474 human lives in past five years.” As attacks rise, retaliation has followed. Authorities report that 30 elephants in Jharkhand have died from “electrocution and various other reasons.”
Now, a single rampaging bull elephant has killed 17 people. Thirteen of those deaths occurred over just two days. The behavior is unusual for an herbivore. Smita Pankaj, regional chief conservator of forests, said, “The elephant turns violent after dark, attacking houses and villagers.”
Why India halted rail service
The forest department has deployed 80 personnel to tranquilize the animal. So far, the effort has failed. “It moves extremely fast and keeps changing locations, repeatedly giving our teams the slip,” Pankaj said. “But during the day, it almost becomes invisible, hiding deep inside the forests.”
The government’s response has been telling. Officials canceled 12 train routes in the region. India’s environment ministry believes trains killed 80 wild elephants between 2020 and 2025. In late December, a single train struck and killed a family of eight elephants. That tragic incident may have triggered the rogue bull’s violent behavior.
India continues to expand public transit for its population of more than 1.5 billion people. Whether its elephant population can survive alongside that growth remains unclear. But there is hope. Last year, when a female elephant stopped to give birth on tracks inside a national forest, authorities halted all train traffic until she safely moved on.
