At least 22 people have died and 15 others sustained injuries following a destructive rampage by an elephant through multiple towns in eastern India over a period of ten days.

Residents in the hardest-hit areas reported climbing trees and sleeping on rooftops to avoid the animal, which began its campaign on New Year’s Day when it killed a 35-year-old man in Bandijhari village, Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district.

The elephant’s path continued with five members of one family being killed four days later in Sowan. The following day, the animal killed five more people in Babaria, including a married couple and their two children.

Moving primarily at night, the creature covered up to 25 miles per day and repeatedly defied efforts by authorities to tranquilize it.

Officials believe the elephant is in a state of musth—a natural but dangerous hormonal condition in male elephants that can cause extreme aggression and unpredictability. During this period, bulls often roam vast distances and attack without warning.

In villages most severely affected, nighttime became a time of panic as residents refused to sleep indoors, instead perching on rooftops or trees to watch for the sound of breaking walls or footsteps as the elephant moved along forest edges.

Some officials suggest the bull may be in a mating phase.

Authorities initially attempted to relocate the elephant into neighboring Odisha but were forced by safety concerns to return it to Chaibasa. Specialist teams from other regions were also dispatched to assist, but one expert suffered a fatal injury during efforts to manage the animal. Search teams are still working urgently to contain the rampaging elephant before it causes further casualties and destruction in the region.