At one in the morning, a herd of elephants wandered into a Thai village to feast on the crops and harvest from the residents' gardens.
When Aman awoke to find several elephants raiding his yard for food, he was confronted with some unconventional, uninvited guests.
On December 17, between 1:00 and 2:00 AM, the elephants trudged into Nong Pradu village, located in the Prachin Buri district of Thailand, according to the Bangkok Post. Locals think that they came from the close-by Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.
The elephants started scouring the village for food and robbing crops as soon as they arrived.
According to Chamras Sroichampa, a 58-year-old resident, his dog started barking at around one in the morning, alerting him to the herd's presence. When Sroichampa turned to look outside, he saw the elephants devouring his potato and banana crops. The Bangkok Post also received reports from two additional locals that elephants had broken into their gardens looking for food.
Elephants Raiding Crops for Food
Such elephant crop-raiding incidents have been a persistent problem in Thailand for years.
According to a 2018 study in the National Library of Medicine, the majority of Thai plantation owners experienced elephants raiding their crops at least once per month, while just over half of them experienced it daily.
The consequences of climate change have made things worse in recent years. Since 2020, Thailand has been dealing with a severe drought, which has caused the resources in the natural habitat of the elephants to become depleted. This implies that they leave designated wildlife sanctuaries and seek out food and water in towns.
According to the Bangkok Post, the elephants that came to Nong Pradu village kept looking for food for hours. Until they felt it safe to leave their homes, many residents hid inside. To find the herd, wildlife authorities were called to the region.
Thailand and Also China
These crop-raiding occurrences have also increased in frequency in other nations where wild elephants are present.
In 2020, a herd of 15 elephants started causing problems in populated areas while in search of food and water in China's Yunnan Province.
The herd had left the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve and was lost. The behavior of the elephants was attributed to extreme weather and habitat degradation, according to a study that examined the incident and was published in August 2022. According to the study, there is no room left for the roving giants.
Read also: Grieving Mother Elephant Carries Body of Dead Calf for Two Days
Injuries
Although no one was hurt in the recent incident, it is still established that crop raiding can be dangerous for both humans and wild elephants.
Despite their reputation as gentle giants, elephants have been known to attack humans if they feel threatened or vulnerable.
Elephant crop raiding has caused many villagers throughout the world to retaliate. For instance, according to World Wildlife Fund research, 60 elephants were discovered dead in 2001 after being poisoned by farmers in Sumatra and India.
Villagers who attempt to scare elephants away from their garden crops run the risk of becoming injured.
Gentle, Dangerous, Deadly
The founder of the conservation organization Save The Asian Elephants, Duncan McNair, previously told Newsweek that despite being friendly, gentle animals, elephants can be "dangerous and deadly" under the right circumstances.
In India, a woman was killed by an elephant in June, and the animal later visited the woman's funeral and tramped on her body. Elephants typically only attack people when provoked, according to McNair.
Related article: Elephant Stabbed Owner to Death After Being Forced to Work in 89-Degree Heat