CNN
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An elephant never forgets – where the snacks are stored.
A large wild elephant caught shopkeepers off guard at a convenience store in Thailand on Monday, when it lumbered into the shop in search of food.
The hungry mammal can be seen on CCTV footage entering the store and helping itself to snacks.
“Business was a bit slow that day. Around 2 p.m., the elephant just walked right up. I came out and tried to shoo it away. I told it not to come closer,” shop owner Khamploi Kakaew told CNN.
“I told it, ‘Go away, go on,’ but it didn’t listen. It was like it came on purpose.”
The store, in Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of the capital Bangkok, is near the Khao Yai National Park, so elephants are often nearby.
“We usually see it pass by, and watch from inside the house. But it never came into the shop before or hurt anyone,” she said.
The elephant – a 27-year-old male called Plai Biang Lek – is well known in the area.
Khamploi said it stayed in the store for about 10 minutes, picking and eating. While wild elephants usually prefer bananas, bamboo and grasses, Biang Lek went straight for the sweets.
“It walked up to the counter – the candy counter near the freezer. It used its trunk to gently push the freezer out of the way so it could fit inside,” she said.
“It went straight to the snacks, picked through them with its trunk. It ate about 10 bags of sweets – they’re 35 baht ($1) each. It also ate dried bananas and peanut snacks.”
Another elephant remained outside the store, “probably waiting,” Khamploi said.
Park rangers were called and were eventually able to guide the elephant away, after much coaxing and shooing.
“He’s around here often but never hurts anyone. I think he just wanted snacks,” said Khamploi.
Following the unexpected visit, a wildlife protection group stopped by and offered Khamploi 800 baht for the stolen goods.
“They said they were ‘sponsoring the elephant’s snack bill’ – it was kind of funny,” she said.
Elephants, Thailand’s national animal, have seen their wild population decline in recent decades due to threats from tourism, logging, poaching and human encroachment on their habitats.
Experts estimate the wild elephant population in Thailand has dwindled to 3,000-4,000, from more than 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century.
A group of local volunteers in Khao Yai are working to keep the park’s elephants away from residential areas.
“The elephants’ behavior has changed from looking for food at people’s orchards or farms, to frequently visiting humans’ houses,” Thanongsak Changin, 44, a resident and volunteer, told CNN.
The elephant Biang Lek had “raided” several other places before Monday’s incident, Thanongsak said, even injuring the tip of its trunk after breaking a glass cupboard in a local home.
“He is now living in a village, which is unusual for a wild elephant. It is like they don’t want to return to the mountain. It is easier for them to just stay among the houses,” he said.
Human and elephant encounters are common and can turn violent, Thanongsak said. There have been instances of elephants destroying cars.
Khao Yai National Park is home to an estimated 140-200 wild Asian elephants, and Thanongsak said his group is trying to keep the area safe for both elephants and humans.
