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An elephant broke into a store in Thailand to steal snacks and the reactions are priceless

"Let's ignore it." "What?" "The elephant in the room."

Photo credit: Canva

An elephant broke into a store to steal snacks, yet no one's talking about it.

Even elephants get a little snack-ish from time to time. Typically when an Asian elephant is feeling peckish they eat what's around them, grass, roots, leaves, maybe some fruit if they have access to it. But not every elephant is satisfied with what's easily accessible, they'd much rather have something tastier than a nice helping of grass.

Convenience store workers in a town located near a national park in central Thailand got a surprise visit by the self-appointed local snack inspector. An elephant, known to the town as Plai Biang Leck decided it was going to take a stroll to the local store to get something a little tastier than roots. Pretty sure he's heard about humans working hard to avoid discussing the elephant in the room so he decided to test his luck.

Elephant enters a grocery store in Thailand for snacks
byu/Flamactor inpics

It sounds like the start of a bad joke: "An elephant walks into a store...", except there's no cringy punchline. An elephant really did walk into a store in Thailand and surprisingly didn't knock everything over. He even used his trunk to do a little grocery shopping while the store clerks tried to shoo the giant creature out. You may be wondering how this real life Babar even managed to fit through the door of a convenience store, but it appears the store has a roll up wall, leaving the entire front of the store exposed to the outside world.

I wonder how long the elephant was planning this trip to the store? Obviously, he didn't have money to purchase his goodies but that didn't slow him down. He walked away with "nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and bananas" according to the caption on the video. Do elephants have social media? If they do, I bet his followers are going to go wild on TikTusk over this exotic grocery haul. As for the tab the big eared fella racked up...? Well, elephants never forget so surely he'll be back to pay for his snacks (right after he figures out what money is).

Thai elephant breaks into local grocery store to steal rice crackers and a banana
byu/doughb0ii inDamnthatsinteresting

People couldn't get enough of the elephant's shopping spree that only ended when the store clerks forced him to leave. Of course, the responses were full of punny jokes people couldn't resist, with one being an amusing exchange, "Let's ignore it..." one person writes, "Ignore what?" someone replies, "The elephant in the room." To this, another person keeps the joke going with, "What elephant?" And just when you thought the banter was over, someone calls it all out saying, "I'm getting tired of these people who only want to talk about imaginary elephants all the time. EDS sufferers - Elephant Derangement Syndrome."

One person imagines the elephant's side of the conversation: "'Um, hello? Good morning? I’m looking for Extra Cheesy Cheez-Its…am I in the wrong aisle?'"

elephant; Thailand; elephant goes shopping; elephant in store; elephant in the room; funny storiesElephant enjoying a sandwich picnic in the wild.Photo credit: Canva

This person has a legitimate concern, saying, "Imagine covering a shift for someone and an elephant comes in the store that morning." How would one explain that without sounding like you've completely rounded the bend? It's definitely a situation where you'd need photo evidence for even the smallest shred of credibility.

One person claims to be the elephant's attorney, joking, "I’m the elephants lawyer: you’re all reminded that these statements are merely accusations and my client is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."

"Wait until you see next door, they've got a bull in a China shop," someone else jokes. And the commenters keep the puns rolling. One quips, "Well you know how to stop an elephant from charging ....TAKE AWAY HIS CREDIT CARD" while another says, "He hates paying for grocery bags at the register, he brings his own trunk."


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Baby elephants can't control their trunks and it's hilarious to see them try

Caters Clips/YouTube

Watching a baby elephant learning to wield its trunk is so darn cute.

Baby elephants are already adorable without having to do a thing. But watching them learn how to do things is extra adorable, and watching them learn how to use their own body is super extra adorable.

Like most four-legged creatures, elephants are able to walk within hours of birth. They have to be able to stand under their mother's belly to breastfeed, and they have to be able to follow the herd as it moves around. Their trunk, however, is an entirely different story. Because they drink their mother's milk exclusively for the first six months and still rely on her milk in addition to other foods for years afterward, they don't have a need to use their trunk for eating right away. It takes time to learn how to wield that long dangly thing hanging from the front of their faces.

In fact, some baby elephants seem to "discover" their trunks much in the same way that human babies discover their hands and feet. Have you ever seen a baby suddenly look at their hands in amazement, moving them around with the first semblance of recognition that they are attached to their body? Watch these baby elephants doing the same thing with their trunks.

Cute Elephant Discovers Trunk

This little elephant looks like it's trying to shake that thing off of its face. It even bops at it with its foot. You can almost see that moment of recognition when it realizes it's actually attached and that it can move it around, however haphazardly. And then it just flings it up and down and around and around, sometimes trying to catch it in its mouth, sometimes trying to catch it with its foot. It's so all over the place, it's hilarious.

The ranger's blog at South Africa's Tintswalo Safari Lodge explains:

"At first, baby elephants don’t really know what to do with their trunks. It’s amusing to watch as the calves swing them to and fro and sometimes even step on them. They will stick their trunk in their mouth just as a human baby might suck its thumb. With more than 50,000 individual muscle units in the trunk, it’s a complex skill to learn.

By about 6 to 8 months, calves begin learning to use their trunks to eat and drink. By the time they are a year old, they can control their trunks pretty well and, like adult elephants, use their trunks for grasping, eating, drinking, bathing."

This kiddo hasn't quite gotten the hang of the whole eating with the trunk thing. Either that, or it's showing off how well it can fling it around, but either way, it's so dang cute.

Once they do learn to use them well, there's almost nothing they can't do with their trunks. As Katherine J. Wu writes in The Atlantic, "The trunk of an African elephant is an evolutionary marvel. Clocking in at weights well over 200 pounds, it ripples with thousands of individual muscles that help the superlong schnoz lift barbells, uproot trees, and fling bothersome lions into the air." Wu shared that elephants can also pick up a tortilla chip—notoriously fragile—without breaking it.

“It’s a muscular multi-tool,” Georgia Tech engineer Andrew Schulz told Wu. “It pushes all of the extremes of what we understand animals to be able to do.”

Freaking amazing. All the more reason to protect our planetary home and the creatures we share it with.

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Planet

The 'Big 5' were trophy hunters' most prized kills. Now there's a 'New Big 5' to 'shoot.'

Photo by Mike Marrah on Unsplash

The "Big 5" is an old term from the colonial era, denoting the five wild animals in Africa that were the most sought-after kills for trophy hunters. Killing those five—lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo—meant ultimate success in the big-game hunting world.

Now there's a "New Big 5," but instead of a barbaric goal for trophy hunters, it's a beautiful goal for wildlife photographers.

The initiative was created by British wildlife photographer Graeme Green with the goal of raising awareness about threats to the world's animals including habitat loss, poaching, illegal animal trade, and climate change. In a global call for votes, 50,000 wildlife lovers shared which animals they most wanted to photograph or see in photos. And the winners are:

Elephant. Polar bear. Lion. Gorilla. Tiger.

These five animals will serve as global ambassadors for all the world's wildlife, including the one million species currently threatened with extinction.

The New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography - The Resultsyoutu.be

New Big 5 project founder Graeme Green said in a statement, "The 5 animals that wildlife lovers around the world have voted to include in the New Big 5 of Wildlife Photography — elephants, gorillas, tigers, lions, and polar bears — are not just some of the most beautiful, incredible animals on the planet. All 5 also face serious threats to their existence. The New Big 5 are the tip of the iceberg. They stand for all the creatures on the planet, so many of which are in danger. From bees to blue whales, all wildlife is essential to the balance of nature, to healthy ecosystems and to the future of our planet."

Jane Goodall has also praised the initiative, saying, "We now have the results of the New Big 5 project. These 5 animals — elephants, polar bears, gorillas, tigers, and lions — are such beautiful and remarkable species, and are wonderful ambassadors for the world's wildlife, from iconic species to little-known frogs, lizards, fish and birds. So many face threats to their survival from issues such as poaching, habitat loss and climate change. A million species are at risk of extinction. If we work together, we can stop this from happening. There is always hope. Change is possible if we each play our part."

The New Big 5 project encourages travelers to visit the places where these animals are found and support conservation efforts in those areas. Ultimately, it's a celebration of wildlife and nature photography and a call to action to save species under threat.

Humanity has learned a lot since the original Big 5 days, but trophy hunting still exists and there's much to be done to protect the world's wildlife. Hopefully the New Big 5 will inspire more people to work on conserving the environment and protect ecosystems so that animal life large and small can flourish.

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Heroes

A dozen former circus elephants finally arrive at comfy new life in Florida sanctuary

White Oak Conservation/Facebook

For many people, seeing any animal in captivity is a tragic sight. But when an animal cannot safely be released into the wild, a captive-but-comfortable space is the next best thing.

That's the situation for a dozen female pachyderms who have joined the Yulee refuge at the White Oak Conservation Center north of Jacksonville, Florida. The Asian elephants, who are endangered in the wild, are former circus animals that were retired from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 2016. The group includes two sets of full sisters and several half-sisters. Elephants tend to live together in multi-generational family groups led by a matriarch.

Philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, who fund the refuge for rare species, say they are "thrilled to give these elephants a place to wander and explore."

"We are working to protect wild animals in their native habitats," the Walters said in a statement. "But for these elephants that can't be released, we are pleased to give them a place where they can live comfortably for the rest of their lives."

Up to 20 more elephants are expected to come live at the refuge in the near future.

According to the AP, Nick Newby leads the team that cares for the elephants and has spent the past few years getting to know each elephant and their habits.

"Watching the elephants go out into the habitat was an incredible moment," Newby said in a statement. "I was so happy to see them come out together and reassure and comfort each other, just like wild elephants do, and then head out to explore their new environment. Seeing the elephants swim for the first time was amazing."

The refuge covers about 17,000 acres and will eventually include nine interlinked areas that boast a variety of habitat types, including wetlands, meadows, and woods. the center is also constructing 11 waterholes and three barns that will hold veterinary equipment. As of now, the elephants have plenty of space to roam, whether they want to stay near the barn and their caregivers, wander through the woods, play in the mud, or swim in the pond.

It's already home to several endangered and threatened species, including rhinos, okapi, bongos, zebras, condors, dama gazelles and cheetahs.

"In the last few years, everything has changed for these elephants for the better — from their retirement to the way they interact with humans and the space they have to roam," said Steve Shurter, White Oak's executive director, in a statement. "For the first time in their lives, these elephants can choose where and how they want to spend their days."

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