Wild elephant stops food caterer’s truck and steals rice

This is the dramatic moment a wild elephant stopped a food caterer's truck and stole their rice. The jumbo was waiting on the roadside before deliberately blocking the pickup truck carrying supplies in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, southern Thailand, on August 20. Footage shows the animal strolling on one lane and heading to the vehicle before rummaging through their cargo. The passengers were stunned and could only let the elephant dig its trunk into pots and boxes before successfully finding a grain bag. As the animal ate the rice, the trucks moved along slowly, but the team of caterers who served food at an event did not have rice for breakfast. As of 2023, there are an estimated 3,084-3,500 wild elephants in Thailand. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The main threats to wild elephants in Thailand are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.