Elephant invades home and steals fermented fish in eastern Thailand

An elephant with no respect for the law smashed its way into a home in Prachin Buri province at 4.40am today and helped itself to some fermented fish and other food items before fleeing into the jungle.

The owner of the one-storey house, Pranee Saicharoen, says she was woken up by a loud bang in the middle of the night. Pranee opened her eyes to see an elephant’s trunk poking in through a giant hole in the smashed wall, feeling its way around the kitchen for food.

Pranee said she was terrified so she jumped out of the window and called the village headman straight away. She woke up her neighbours to warn them about the burglar roaming around the village.

Eyewitnesses saw the thief flee the scene – with fermented fish and more snacks – and head towards the dense jungle, about 500 metres away from the house. The villagers set off firecrackers to chase the elephant away.

The criminal left a trail of incriminating evidence at the crime scene such as several large footprints.

Lately, wild elephants are causing serious trouble in the village, which is located inside Thap Lan National Park, a listed World Heritage Site.

Two villagers were recently injured by wild elephants and many villagers reported having food stolen such as fermented fish, rice, salt, and seasonings.

A 40 year old villager, Phenphan, said she is paranoid about elephants now and is losing sleep. She says the villagers sound an alarm if an elephant comes and everyone runs out of their houses. She says elephants are regularly causing havoc and destroying things in the village.

A 74 year old villager, Niang, said she bought a three kilogram bag of rice and left it outside of her house. The next thing she knew, the rice had been stolen. She bought a new bag and tied it to a tree, but thinks an elephant might still be able to steal it if it so desires.

A 70 year old villager, Pratuan, said that he feels so scared of elephants that he has started sleeping at his relatives’ house. He said elephants have been causing trouble in the village for about one year now and he fears that someone will get trampled to death.

In August, a man was trampled to death by wild elephants in Hua Hin just outside the boundary of Kaeng Krachan National Park.

Earlier that month, an elephant ripped its mahout in half using its tusks. Police think the elephant was annoyed at its owner for making it haul rubberwood in the blaring sun.

SOURCE: CH3, DailyNews, BanMuang