Main image via Daily Mail
As Asians, it’s safe to say that many of us love eating rice. Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Sushi, banana leaf rice and more, we love it in every way we can get it.
But it looks like we’re not the only ones who love rice.
One elephant from Thailand in particular, broke into a kitchen and stole a bag of rice when it got hungry!
via GIPHY
Rachadawan Phungprasopporn and her husband were asleep one night when they were suddenly awakened by a loud noise in their home in Hua Hin, southern Thailand.
The couple rushed to the source of the noise and was shocked to find an elephant’s head sticking through the kitchen wall with its trunk rummaging through some cupboards.
The adult bull, named Plai Bunchuay, had apparently sniffed out the food in the kitchen and broke through the wall to see what it could find.
Image via Daily Mail
According to the couple, the hungry elephant proceeded to grab a bag of rice and shoved it into its mouth!
Rachadawan shared that her husband helped to shoo the animal way and Plai eventually disappeared into the nearby woodland.
“This elephant is well known in the area because he causes a lot of mischief,” she said.
“He came to the house about two months ago and was looking around, but he didn’t damage anything then.”
“We spoke to the local wildlife officers and they told us not to keep food out in the kitchen because the smell attracts the elephants, so we followed their advice,” she added.
“The wall will cost about 50,000 Baht (RM6,548) to repair. It was funny to see the elephant like that but also I’m worried he could come back again.”
Image via Daily Mail
There are an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants that live in the wild in Thailand and conflict usually occurs when they come into contact with humans on the roads or in villages.
The country’s National Park’s staff believe that the animals have changed their behaviour in response to the food available from humans.
“The most likely explanation for this situation is that the elephant smelled the food and wanted to eat it,” conservation officer Supanya Chengsutha said.
“It’s not because the elephant was particularly hungry, as the food in the jungle has stayed the same. There is plenty and that hasn’t changed. But sometimes individual elephants experience a change in their behaviour and character, so there’s no one factor why they would do this.”
“Elephant eating habits have also changed now that they come into contact with humans more. They have started to like the food that people eat. It could also be that hunters and traps in the jungle have disrupted the elephant and it has moved out of the deep forest [and] more towards settlements.”
Maybe Plai the elephant just really wanted some rice…? We’d totally understand if this was the case!
We can only imagine the shock Rachadawan and her husband felt when they saw the elephant in their kitchen!
What would your first reaction be if you saw an elephant busting through your kitchen wall? Let us know!
Info via Daily Mail