Elephants are known for having a big appetite for sweets, such as bananas or sugar canes. But since it’s pretty hard to procure them in the wild, this young elephant found a better way to taste a bit from the forbidden fruit – stealing from loaded truck.
Viral video footage shows the wild elephant stopping traffic to get some sugarcanes. The moment unfolded on a road in the Wildlife Sanctuary in Chachoengsao, Thailand, and it was captured on camera by a tourist, who couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. The moment shows the baby elephant casually walking towards the loaded vehicles.
Soon as he reaches the first incoming truck, the elephant – known as Auan-tia – makes an inspection, but he didn’t seem too impressed, so he lets the driver go. It happens the same with the second truck, but the next ones are fully loaded with sugarcanes – Auan-tia’s favorite treats.
As you can imagine, the truck’s driver can’t help, but to be patience until the juvenile elephant enjoys the delicious sugarcane sticks!
Although the footage is less than two minute long, according to witnesses Auan-tia spent nearly two hours in this place, stealing from at least a dozen of passing trucks. The elephant may be young, but he’s big enough to intimidate the drivers, so none of them dared to get close to him or to lead him back into the woods.
Scenes like these are pretty familiar on the Thai highways, though. But although these elephants are usually very friendly, the wildlife officials encourage the drivers to remain vigilance whenever they came across an elephant on the road, or even on the side of it.
The video showing the young elephant stealing sugarcanes from loaded trucks went viral online with over 65 million views so far. “This is the moment a sweet-toothed elephant stopped passing trucks so he could steal a trunk full of sugar cane,” the video caption reads. “The juvenile, nicknamed Auan-tia by a park ranger, ambled out of the woods and blocked the road like it was his ‘own police checkpoint.'”
Watch the moment here: