Officials in India have reported that the elephant responsible for the deaths of 22 people is still yet to be captured.The incidents occurred earlier in January in the rural Chaibasa and Kolhan forest areas of West Singhbhum, Northeastern India.In a video released by TMZ, an elephant can be seen stampeding towards a crowd of people, then ramming someone unlucky enough to get in its way..According to the BBC, most of the deaths have come at night in places where rice is stored, such as fields and barns. The elephant would go after those who were guarding the rice in order to gain access to it.Officials have reported that the elephant is young, agile, and constantly moving, making its capture difficult. Residents of the area have also been told to stay in their houses at night and to avoid sleeping outside.Experts say the elephant may be in its mating phase, with male elephants experiencing increased aggression due to their elevated levels of testosterone. They also said this behaviour goes away after 15 to 20 days..This incident highlights an increase in elephant-human interactions in this region of India. Researchers have attributed this to deforestation, habitat loss, and an increase of human activity around elephant corridors. As India's population continues to increase, more and more forest is being cleared to make way for housing and agriculture. This has led to more incidents such as this one, with elephants increasingly venturing into human settlements in search of food. .The search for the elephant responsible for these deaths is still ongoing, with over 100 forest personnel currently looking for the elephant, officials report. They intend to capture and release the animal in an area further away from human settlements.
