Latest news with #KamployKakaew
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
An Elephant Wanders Into a Grocery Store and Steals Crackers, a Sandwich and the Internet's Heart
In Thailand, a wild elephant lumbered into a grocery store and helped himself to all the goods as if he was taking over the place. Now, the male elephant known as Plai Biang Lek is taking over the internet, too. Plai Biang Lek entered a store in Pak Chong, Thailand, after finding his way there from Khao Yai National Park, according to NBC News. Video of the incident circulating on social media shows the giant animal, plastered in mud, the inside of the small store as he towers over a wall of shelves packed with snacks and groceries. The store's owner, Kamploy Kakaew, and national park workers can be heard trying to wrangle the elephant out of the store as he munches away, seemingly unfazed. Speaking to NBC News, Kakaew recalled how the behemoth managed to feast on several items from her morning haul, including dried bananas, nine bags of sweet rice crackers and a sandwich. 'This sandwich, the whole pack was gone,' she said. Plai Biang Lek was eventually escorted from the shop's premises without anyone being harmed. Still, he didn't leave the store empty-trunked. The video shows him making his departure with a parting snack tucked against his chest. The chaos and crumbs left behind might have been local to Thailand, but the laughs and comments are now global. On Instagram and TikTok, users have reacted to the video with amusement and affection, with TikTok calling Plai Biang 'impossible to ignore.' 'That elephant was being very mindful, very demure,' one user commented on Associated Press' Instagram page. 'Previous human looking for favorite snacks in the afterlife for sure,' replied another. ''Hello boss?'' one replied, leaning into the absurdity. 'So, it's just that I don't know where to start.'' 'Insurance company: a WHAT entered the store?' someone quipped. 'They'd love Costco,' chimed in another. 'This sounds like a math problem,' one user mused. 'If one elephant eats 3 apples, how much will it cost to replace the ceiling?' 'Me in the kitchen at 2 am,' came another joke. Khao Yai National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located some 114 miles away from the city of Bangkok, according to the park's website. It is a home to a diverse range of wildlife, including reptiles, birds and mammals like Plai Biang Lek. In Thailand, elephants are cultural figures of royalty and strength. While deeply respected, their numbers have dropped significantly due to poaching, habitat encroachment and the increase of human-elephant conflicts, according to the World Wildlife Fund. In 2020, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), started a plan to ease these conflicts by increasing food and water resources for animals within their protected habitats. This article was originally published on
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Watch: Hungry elephant causes chaos in shop snack raid
A hungry elephant raided a shop in Thailand looking for snacks. We've all been there before: feeling peckish while watching TV and realising that there were no snacks in the pantry, meaning you have to throw the Crocs into sports mode and head to the shop. However, one shop in Thailand got a bit more than they bargained for when an elephant got the munchies and headed inside, looking for some snacks. @nbcnews An #elephant caused chaos in a grocery store in #Thailand when it walked in and began to help itself to snacks. ♬ original sound – nbcnews The huge male elephant, named Plai Biang Lek, briefly stopped in front of the shop near the Khao Yai National Park, before deciding to head in, calmly stopping in front of the till and chomping away at the snacks. The elephant was unfazed by the nearby park workers who were trying to get him out, eventually leaving with a bag of snacks in his trunk. Miraculously, no one was injured when the elephant came in, and there was no damage to the shop bar a few mud tracks and a little damage to the ceiling. A video of the elephant shopping was posted to social media, with the shop's owner Kamploy Kakaew saying that he ate about nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and dried bananas that she had bought that morning. A hungry elephant raided a shop in Thailand looking for snacks. Pic: TikTok Hilariously, the 30-year-old elephant is known to the area, and has entered people's homes looking for food before — with this being the first time he entered a shop looking for food. Danai Sookkanthachat, a volunteer in the park, told AP 'After he left the shop, he went on to open a bedroom window of another house.' Mr Sookkanthachat added that while he was seeing wild elephants from the park have been ransacking kitchens for years, but he has started seeing the elephants going in to more random places in search of food. The elephant has been known to raid homes before, but this is the first time he entered a shop. Pic: TikTok An estimated 4,000 elephants are wild in Thailand, according to the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Thailand Elephant goes viral after calm grocery store raid near Khao Yai –watch viral video
Thailand's 'Polite Shoplifter' Elephant caught on camera raiding grocery store: A wild elephant named Plai Biang Lek from Thailand's Khao Yai National Park recently went viral. He calmly walked into a grocery store near the park. The elephant is estimated to be 30 years old. He entered a small convenience store in Pak Chong district. He towered over the shelves and helped himself to snacks. These included sweet rice crackers, dried bananas, and a sandwich. Despite the mess, the elephant stayed calm. He left peacefully with snacks in his trunk. No one was hurt, and there was no major damage. The moment was caught on video and shared widely online. People around the world were charmed by the gentle giant's calm grocery raid. Not an ordinary SHOPLIFTERLarge male ELEPHANT raids the rice crackers in a small town store in north Thailand, then leaves without payingKnown locally as Plai Biang Lek, it's apparently not his first offense Viral Video Captures Elephant's Snack Raid and Calm Demeanor The incident was caught on video and quickly went viral on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. The footage shows Plai Biang Lek casually walking into the store. He towers over the shelves and uses his trunk to grab snacks. There are no signs of fear or aggression. The shop owner, Kamploy Kakaew, and park workers tried to shoo him away. But the elephant stayed calm and unbothered. He eventually walked out peacefully, carrying a bag of snacks in his trunk. Public reaction The video has gained more than 2 million hits on the internet, with people being enamored by his calm nature. People were in awe of the elephant. A user wrote, 'Even elephants get the munchies!' while the other said, 'Imagine heading in for snacks and running into him-only in Thailand!' The incident is an indication of a worsening problem: habitat destruction. Spreading agriculture drives elephants such as Plai Biang Lek into human areas in quest of food, and there are fears of future human-wildlife conflicts. Elephant's Behavior Highlights Growing Human-Wildlife Interaction Challenges Plai Biang Lek is locally known for wandering into nearby villages in search of food. This behaviour is becoming more common as wild elephant habitats shrink due to farming and human encroachment. Though he has entered houses before, this was reportedly his first time walking into a grocery shop. The incident caused minimal damage. Only muddy footprints and slight damage to the shop's ceiling were reported. Fortunately, no one was injured. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.
NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
Bull in a china shop? No, it's an elephant in a grocery store
BANGKOK — A hungry and mud-caked wild elephant surprised shopkeepers at a grocery store in Thailand this week, ransacking shelves in search of food. The male elephant, known as Plai Biang Lek, had wandered over from Khao Yai National Park into the nearby town of Pak Chong, about 125 miles northeast of Bangkok. In a video posted online, the shop owner, Kamploy Kakaew, can be heard scolding the elephant as national park workers try to usher him out. Unperturbed, the animal continues to munch on various items as he dusts the floor with crumbs and mud. The voracious pachyderm finally backed out of the store, a bag of snacks still clasped in his trunk. Kamploy said the elephant ate items she had bought at the market that morning, including about nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and some dried bananas. 'This sandwich, the whole pack was gone,' she said. No one was hurt, she said. Elephants, a symbol of royalty and strength in Thai culture, are greatly treasured by its people. But the population of wild elephants has dwindled over the past century to several thousand as they are pushed out of their habitats by development and poaching. Encounters between elephants and humans have been known to turn violent, and the country is trying to balance protecting the public with preserving the animals' welfare.
CNA
3 days ago
- CNA
Hungry wild elephant raids grocery store in Thailand for snacks
BANGKOK: A hungry wild elephant caused havoc in a grocery store in Thailand on Monday (Jun 2) when he strolled in from a nearby national park and helped himself to food on the shelves. Videos of the incident showed the huge male elephant, known as Plai Biang Lek, briefly stopping in front of the shop, located next to a main road near the Khao Yai National Park in northeastern Thailand, before ducking his whole body inside. The elephant stopped in front of the shop's counter, calmly snatching and chomping snacks, and did not flinch as the national park workers tried to shoo him away. The elephant later backed out of the shop still holding a bag of snacks with his trunk. He left little damage behind, except mud tracks on the floor and the ceiling of the shop. In a video posted on social media, Kamploy Kakaew, the shop owner, appeared amused as she described the moment the elephant rifled her shop. She said he ate about nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and some dried bananas she had bought that morning. Kamploy said the elephant left without hurting anyone after getting his snacks. Danai Sookkanthachat, a volunteer park worker familiar with the elephant, said Plai Biang Lek, who is about 30 years old, is a familiar sight in the area and has been known to enter people's houses in search of food. This was the first time he had seen him going into a grocery store. "After he left the shop, he went on to open a bedroom window of another house," he told The Associated Press. Danai said wild elephants in the Khao Yai National Park area have been coming out of the woods to ransack people's kitchens for many years, but this year he has started seeing them going into more random places to find food. There were an estimated 4,000 wild elephants in Thailand in 2024, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. As farmers push into forests for agriculture, elephants have been forced to venture out of their shrinking habitats in search of food, leading to confrontations that can turn deadly.
