A Thai woman, Ratchadawan Puengprasoppon, woke up to a loud sound in the middle of the night on Saturday. She rushed downstairs to find an elephant poking his head into the kitchen, reports CNN.
- Her cooking must have been delicious because the hungry elephant broke in — twice.
The recent incident in Southern Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan province comes amid rising human-elephant interactions, reports The Guardian.
Did an elephant break into a Thai home?
Last month, an elephant smashed a hole in Puengprasoppon’s kitchen wall. The damage had not yet been repaired when the elephant visitor came along again, reports CNN.
- The elephant, named Boonchuay, is a male Asian elephant who makes frequent visits to the village, reports USA Today.
Boonchuay knocked over pots and pans, rummaged around in cupboards and drawers, and combed the kitchen for food. He did not find any. Puengprasoppon said via CNN that her kitchen was empty at the time.
All Europeans: tHeRe Is A mOuSe In ThE hOuSe! 😱
— Wouter Vansteelant (@WMGVs) June 20, 2021
Thai: what about the elephant in the room ... 😬 https://t.co/OIuW1f9Hyu
Puengprasoppon filmed the elephant's misadventure and shared it via her Facebook, reports USA Today.
Why did the elephant break in?
“I have seen elephants roaming around our town looking for food since I was young,” Puengprasoppon said via CNN. “But this is the first time they actually damaged my house.”
- The damage will cost Puengprasoppon over $1,500 to repair, says USA Today.
Puengprasoppon’s village is near the entrance of a national park home to many wild Asian elephants, reports CNN. Conflicts between villagers and elephants are increasingly common.
Volunteers from the local community will work alongside a national park officer to monitor the elephants. They will use loud noises to deter the animals from entering the village and push them back towards the forest, reports The Guardian.
Are elephants and humans interacting more often?
Elephants have made headlines multiple times lately. Human-elephant conflict is on the rise in Thailand, India and across Asia, reports CNN. As human settlements and infrastructure have expanded, elephant habitats have contracted, leaving the animals with less land and fewer resources.
- Another instance involves a herd of 15 elephants trekking across China, possibly searching for a new habitat, reports the Deseret News.