Latest news with #northeasternThailand
The Independent
5 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.
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Russia Today
WATCH wild elephant visit Thai grocery store
A giant wild elephant from a national park in northeastern Thailand wandered off and strolled into a grocery store, knocking over shelves and sniffing boxes of rice crackers before leaving. The daylight robbery went viral after the Thairath Online Facebook page posted a video on Monday afternoon showing the massive creature – reportedly known locally as Plai Biang Lek – shocking the convenience store owner in the Pak Chong district by invading the premises and helping itself to some snacks. The store, which is around three hours northeast of Bangkok, is near Khao Yai National Park, where wild elephants are frequently seen leaving protected areas in search of food. The publication said this is not Lek's first mischievous act. Two years ago, he famously made off with a pot of congee, a type of rice porridge. The 23-year-old male elephant entered the store while the owner was attending to a customer, the Bangkok Post reported, adding that the visit caused panic, forcing the shopkeeper and customer to run out and alert park rangers and the shop owner tried to make the animal leave by shouting and pleading with him, the media outlet noted, but the elephant was unfazed and continued probing with his trunk, searching the shelves for snacks. Ten minutes later, he left and wandered back into the jungle, causing no injuries to itself or bystanders. According to the shop owner, as cited by the Bangkok Post, repairing the damaged shelves and replacing the lost goods will cost more than 1,000 baht (around $30).
