A convenience store had to deal with an unusual shoplifter in the form of a large male elephant who stormed in to raid the snacks.
The store is in the Pak Chong district, not far from Khao Yai National Park, about three hours northeast of Bangkok. Wild elephants are commonplace in the region and often leave protected areas to forage for food.
Facebook users delighted over the incident with one quipping: “Did you forget to pay for your food, Biang? Have you scanned?”
There are between 3,700 and 4,400 elephants scattered among dozens of national parks across Thailand, according to estimates from conservation groups.
Sadly, like many places across the world, their habitat is increasingly being squeezed by development and large-scale farming. It has led to frequent human-animal conflict, including elephants being shot by farmers angry at having their crops pillaged.
This comes after an army major from Free State province of South Africa met a horrifying end after he was mauled to death by his pet hippo who he took in as a baby and treated ‘like a son’.
Marius Els, 40, an army major, was bitten to death by the 1.2 tonne hippo he named Humphrey. He had brought Humphrey to his 400 acre farm where the animal learned to swim with humans. A clip of Els riding the 2,000-pound beast like a horse went viral after many people were shocked he was able to accomplish such a feat.
The Guardian reported there had been several signs the animal would never be able to be domesticated — including an incident where a 52-year-old man and his seven-year-old grandson had to climb a tree to get away from the hippo when they canoed through the section of river on Els’ farm where Humphrey lived.