Bull in a china shop? No, it’s an elephant in a grocery store

BANGKOK — A hungry and mud-caked wild elephant surprised shopkeepers at a grocery store in Thailand this week, ransacking shelves in search of food.

The male elephant, known as Plai Biang Lek, had wandered over from Khao Yai National Park into the nearby town of Pak Chong, about 125 miles northeast of Bangkok.

In a video posted online, the shop owner, Kamploy Kakaew, can be heard scolding the elephant as national park workers try to usher him out. Unperturbed, the animal continues to munch on various items as he dusts the floor with crumbs and mud.

The voracious pachyderm finally backed out of the store, a bag of snacks still clasped in his trunk.

Kamploy said the elephant ate items she had bought at the market that morning, including about nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and some dried bananas.

“This sandwich, the whole pack was gone,” she said.

No one was hurt, she said.

Elephants, a symbol of royalty and strength in Thai culture, are greatly treasured by its people. But the population of wild elephants has dwindled over the past century to several thousand as they are pushed out of their habitats by development and poaching.

Encounters between elephants and humans have been known to turn violent, and the country is trying to balance protecting the public with preserving the animals’ welfare.

Nat Sumon reported from Bangkok, and Chelsea Chan reported from Hong Kong.