Thailand Elephants Stopping Traffic and Raiding Grocery Stores for Snacks
A snack-loving elephant named Plai Biang Lek became an internet sensation after walking into a grocery store in Thailand, helping himself to food, and leaving with a bag of treats in his trunk.
Traffic coming to a halt because of an elephant is not unusual near Thailand's Khao Yai National Park.
In 2016, a large wild elephant casually walked along a road searching for food, stopping traffic for nearly an hour. Drivers stayed inside their vehicles and patiently waited as the elephant ignored the crowd and continued eating plants by the roadside. Experts say elephants have used these routes for generations, long before roads were built.
A similar scene played out again in 2026, when another wild elephant wandered onto a road in Thailand's Prachuap Khiri Khan province, slowing traffic as it searched for food.
But the most famous local elephant is Plai Biang Lek, a 30-year-old male known for raiding homes and villages for snacks.
Recently, he became an internet sensation after walking out of the forest and straight into a grocery store near Khao Yai National Park. Security footage showed the elephant squeezing through the entrance, calmly helping itself to food from the shelves, and eating sweet rice crackers, a sandwich, and dried bananas while stunned workers watched.
After finishing his snack break, Plai Biang Lek slowly backed out of the shop, carrying a bag of treats away in his trunk. He later wandered to a nearby house and even opened a bedroom window before moving on.
Fortunately, no one was injured and the damage was minimal.
Wildlife officials say such encounters are becoming more common as shrinking forests and expanding human development push elephants closer to towns and villages. While many of these encounters are amusing, experts warn they can also be dangerous for both humans and animals.
For now, however, Plai Biang Lek's unexpected grocery shopping trip has left people around the world smiling.
