Bangkok (AP) – A famished wild elephant caused a stir in a grocery store in Thailand on Monday, making its way from a nearby national park to find food on the shelves.
In footage of the event, a large male elephant named Prai Bian Lekh paused in front of a shop adjacent to a major road near Khao Yai National Park in northeastern Thailand, soon bending down with his body.
The elephant approached the store counter and quietly grabbed some food, unfazed even as national park staff attempted to shoo him away.
Eventually, the elephant exited the store with a bag of snacks held in his trunk, leaving behind only mud stains on the floor and the ceiling of the shop.
In a clip shared on social media, shop owner Kampray Kakaew expressed her amusement as she recounted the moment the elephant transformed her store into a scene of excitement. She noted that he managed to grab around nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich, and a dried banana he had acquired that morning.
Kampray added that the elephant departed without causing any harm after securing his snack.
Danai Sukkantahat, a volunteer park worker familiar with elephants, mentioned that Prai Bian Lek, who is about 30 years old, is a well-known figure in the region and has a history of entering residences in search of food. This was the first instance of him venturing into a grocery store.
“After he left the shop, he started opening the bedroom windows of another house,” he informed The Associated Press.
Danai explained that wild elephants in the Khao Yai National Park vicinity have been emerging from the woods for years to raid people’s kitchens, but this year has seen them exploring more random locations in search of food.
According to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Bureau, there were around 4,000 wild elephants estimated in Thailand in 2024. As farming activities encroach on the forest, elephants are increasingly forced out of their diminishing habitats to seek food, resulting in deadly conflicts.
Source: apnews.com