Elephant smashes through kitchen wall at 2am to steal bag of rice

Elephants can sniff out food from miles away and this bull made light work of a concrete wall to secure his midnight feast.

The huge beast smashed into the kitchen in Hua Hin, southern Thailand, at 2am on Sunday.

Rachadawan Phungprasopporn and her husband were woken up by the noise and rushed to the kitchen to see what had happened.

They then found the beast with its huge ivory tusks rummaging through the cupboard using its long trunk.

It even grabbed a bag of rice which it shoved into its mouth.

Rachadawan said her husband helped shoo away the elephant, which disappeared into nearby woodland after getting his fill.

She said: ‘This elephant is well known in the area because he causes a lot of mischief.

‘He came to the house about two months ago and was looking around, but he didn’t damage anything then.

‘We spoke to the local wildlife officers and they told us not to keep food out in the kitchen because the smell attracts the elephants, so we followed their advice.

‘The wall will cost about 50,000 Baht (£1,150) to repair. It was funny to see the elephant like that but also I’m worried he could come back again.’

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild but there is often conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages.

Experts believe the animals have changed their behaviour in response to food being readily available in human settlements.

Conservation officer Supanya Chengsutha said: ‘The most likely explanation for this situation is that the elephant smelled the food and wanted to eat it.

‘It’s not because the elephant was particularly hungry, as the food in the jungle has stayed the same.

‘There is plenty and that hasn’t changed.’