Latest news with #KhaoYai
CNA
5 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.
CBC
5 days ago
- CBC
Elephant barges into convenience store, grabs a trunkful of snacks
An elephant in Khao Yai, Thailand, was in the mood for a bite to eat and decided to make a pit stop at local convenience store. The elephant was seen on security cameras entering the store and helping itself to a variety of snacks before animal control officers peacefully shooed it away.
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store in Thailand for snacks
A hungry wild elephant caused havoc in a grocery store in Thailand on Monday 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.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store in Thailand for snacks
BANGKOK (AP) — A hungry wild elephant caused havoc in a grocery store in Thailand on Monday 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.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘I think he just wanted snacks': Thai shopkeeper caught off guard as wild elephant visits store
An elephant never forgets – where the snacks are stored. A large wild elephant caught shopkeepers off guard at a convenience store in Thailand on Monday, when it lumbered into the shop in search of food. The hungry mammal can be seen on CCTV footage entering the store and helping itself to snacks. 'Business was a bit slow that day. Around 2 p.m., the elephant just walked right up. I came out and tried to shoo it away. I told it not to come closer,' shop owner Khamploi Kakaew told CNN. 'I told it, 'Go away, go on,' but it didn't listen. It was like it came on purpose.' The store, in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of the capital Bangkok, is near the Khao Yai National Park, so elephants are often nearby. 'We usually see it pass by, and watch from inside the house. But it never came into the shop before or hurt anyone,' she said. The elephant – a 27-year-old male called Plai Biang Lek – is well known in the area. Khamploi said it stayed in the store for about 10 minutes, picking and eating. While wild elephants usually prefer bananas, bamboo and grasses, Biang Lek went straight for the sweets. 'It walked up to the counter – the candy counter near the freezer. It used its trunk to gently push the freezer out of the way so it could fit inside,' she said. 'It went straight to the snacks, picked through them with its trunk. It ate about 10 bags of sweets – they're 35 baht ($1) each. It also ate dried bananas and peanut snacks.' Another elephant remained outside the store, 'probably waiting,' Khamploi said. Park rangers were called and were eventually able to guide the elephant away, after much coaxing and shooing. 'He's around here often but never hurts anyone. I think he just wanted snacks,' said Khamploi. Following the unexpected visit, a wildlife protection group stopped by and offered Khamploi 800 baht for the stolen goods. 'They said they were 'sponsoring the elephant's snack bill' – it was kind of funny,' she said. Elephants, Thailand's national animal, have seen their wild population decline in recent decades due to threats from tourism, logging, poaching and human encroachment on their habitats. Experts estimate the wild elephant population in Thailand has dwindled to 3,000-4,000, from more than 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. A group of local volunteers in Khao Yai are working to keep the park's elephants away from residential areas. 'The elephants' behavior has changed from looking for food at people's orchards or farms, to frequently visiting humans' houses,' Thanongsak Changin, 44, a resident and volunteer, told CNN. The elephant Biang Lek had 'raided' several other places before Monday's incident, Thanongsak said, even injuring the tip of its trunk after breaking a glass cupboard in a local home. 'He is now living in a village, which is unusual for a wild elephant. It is like they don't want to return to the mountain. It is easier for them to just stay among the houses,' he said. Human and elephant encounters are common and can turn violent, Thanongsak said. There have been instances of elephants destroying cars. Khao Yai National Park is home to an estimated 140-200 wild Asian elephants, and Thanongsak said his group is trying to keep the area safe for both elephants and humans.
