A man was faced with some unusual uninvited visitors when he woke up to find a herd of elephants raiding his garden for food.
The elephants wandered into Nong Pradu village in the Prachin Buri district of Thailand between 1am to 2 am on December 17, the Bangkok Post reported. Residents believe they had arrived from the nearby Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.
On entering the village, the elephants began searching for food and raiding crops.
Resident Chamras Sroichampa, 58, told the Bangkok Post that his dog began barking at about 1 a.m, alerting him to the presence of the herd. Sroichampa looked outside to find the elephants feasting on his banana trees and potato crops. Another two residents also told the Bangkok Post that elephants had raided their gardens in search of food.
Elephant crop raiding instances such as this have been an ongoing issue in Thailand for years.
A 2018 study published in the National Library of Medicine found that just over half of plantation owners in Thailand had their crops raided by elephants on a daily basis, while most of them experienced it at least once a month.
The situation has worsened in recent years because of the effects of climate change. Thailand has been tackling a severe drought since 2020 and the dry conditions have depleted resources in the elephants' natural habitat. This means they venture away from designated wildlife sanctuaries and search for food and water in populated areas.
The elephants that visited Nong Pradu village continued their search for food for hours, the Bangkok Post reported. Many residents stayed hidden in their houses until it was safe to come out. Wildlife officials were called to the area to locate the herd.
Such crop raiding incidents have also become more common in other countries where wild elephants roam.
During a severe drought gripping China's Yunnan Province in 2020, a herd of 15 elephants began wreaking havoc on populated areas while searching for food and water.
The herd had wandered from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. A study analyzing the event, published in August 2022, found that the elephants' behavior was a result of severe weather conditions and habitat degradation. The study said there is "no space left for the wandering giants."
Although there were no reported injuries in the recent incident in Thailand, crop raiding can represent a threat both to wild elephants and humans.
While they are known for being gentle giants, elephants can attack humans when they feel vulnerable or if their territory is threatened.
Many villagers worldwide have experienced crop raiding by elephants and subsequently retaliated. For example, 60 elephants were found dead in 2001 after having been poisoned by farmers in India and Sumatra, research from the World Wildlife Fund found.
Villagers who try to drive elephants away from their crops can also be at risk.
Duncan McNair, a lawyer and founder of the conservation charity Save The Asian Elephants, previously told Newsweek that although gentle creatures, elephants can be "dangerous and deadly."
In June an elephant killed a woman in India and later returned to her funeral to trample on her corpse.
McNair said elephants usually only kill humans if they have been provoked in some way.
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
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