Elephant rams through kitchen wall in search of food, leaves woman stunned

New Delhi: It is not always easy to address the elephant in the room, sometimes literally. A Thai woman recently had a surprising visitor in her kitchen, when Boonchuay, a male elephant, decided to search for snacks in her house. 

As per The Guardian report, Ratchadawan Puengprasoppon, who lives in Hua Hin district’s Chalermkiatpattana village, woke up in the wee hours of June 20, when she heard loud crashing and banging noise. To her absolute astonishment, she found Boonchuay knocking pans and other utensils on the floor looking for food. 

Soon after, the pictures of an elephant poking his head through a kitchen window went viral. 

Meet Boonchuay: 

 pic.twitter.com/vbEXrBBz7Y — FM91 Trafficpro (@fm91trafficpro) June 20, 2021

This was not the first time that the elephant wandered around and reached someone's house. As per the report, Boonchuay, a resident of Thailand’s Kaeng Krachan national park, has done this before. 

“They come to visit quite often. They always come when there is the local market because they can smell food,” Itthipon Thaimonkol, the park’s superintendent told The Guardian. 

Dr Joshua Plotnik, an assistant professor of psychology at Hunter College, City University of New York, expressed concern about elephants leaving their natural habitat and searching for food elsewhere. 

This is not that uncommon in Thailand (I've been in a house while this was happening, it's scary as hell), unfortunately. This is why we're studying the relationship between elephant and human behavior there, and why the conflict is such a major concern. photo: R. Phungprasopporn pic.twitter.com/9Wgj3plP5x — Josh Plotnik  (@CCCAnimals) June 20, 2021

“These incidences are increasing in Asia, and it is likely due to a decrease in available resources and an increase in human disturbances in the elephants’ habitat,” he told the leading website. 

Plotnik added, “If you don’t fulfil the elephants’ need for food, water and other resources in their natural habitat (or ensure they have them somewhere else), they will find ways around deterrents and access villages or cropfields in search of these resources.”