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Adorable baby elephant gets caught eating sugar cane—hides behind telephone pole

Source: Facebook/วีรวัฒน์ พรหมเมือง

A cheeky baby elephant has become a viral sensation for trying to hide behind a narrow pole after locals in Thailand caught him helping himself to a sugary midnight snack.

Baby elephant with conscience tries to hide behind a lamppost in Thailand

There are some 2000 elephants in the wild in Thailand and, as you’ll discover in this article, helping themselves to sugarcane is a bit of a thing. Such was the case last week in Chiang Mai, in the north of the country, where a baby elephant was caught late-night snacking on sugar cane in a local farmer’s field. When he realised that people were approaching, the little elephant did some quick thinking about where he could hide and came up with the hilarious (if hopelessly ineffectual) hiding place. The adorable youngster decided to hide behind a thin lamppost at the edge of the field, in the hopes that he wouldn’t be spotted. Look at him. Awww. 

— ‘Keep calm. Officers will see. Let's continue eating sugarcane.’ — This heart-melting scene was captured by Thai farmers and Facebook on November 16. What’s incredible is the fact that not only did the baby elephant think that hiding behind a lamppost was a good idea, but that if he kept perfectly still no one would be able to see him. Luckily it looks like the residents of the area played along with him for a while, so that he wouldn’t feel sad about his lack of stealth.
#ไม่เห็นเลยจริงๆ #หลบเป้ปเจ้าหน้าที่มา — ‘Keep calm. Officers will see. Let’s continue eating sugarcane.’ — This heart-melting scene was captured by Thai farmers and Facebook on November 16. What’s incredible is the fact that not only did the baby elephant think that hiding behind a lamppost was a good idea, but that if he kept perfectly still no one would be able to see him. Luckily it looks like the residents of the area played along with him for a while, so that he wouldn’t feel sad about his lack of stealth. Source: Facebook/วีรวัฒน์ พรหมเมือง

Wild elephants in South and Southeast Asia walk among humans

In Asia, and particularly across South-east Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the sight of elephants roaming freely close to rural villages is one of the region’s most iconic scenes. Due to the threat of extinction facing these gentle giants, there are ever greater measures being implemented in this part of the world to safeguard them and enable their conservation and protection. This has meant that their presence in populated areas is not unusual and certainly not a cause for alarm or hostility.

Efforts have been made to try and achieve a peaceful coexistence of elephants and humans; and while there’s still a long way to go before the experiment can be considered entirely successful, it’s worthwhile acknowledging that important progress has been made. 

This can be seen in Thailand where elephants, besides obviously being an important and protected species, are also one of the country’s tourist attractions, meaning that the reciprocal relationship benefits both parties. And this peaceful coexistence has meant that many elephants have felt confident enough to steal crops or even wander into traffic in order to help themselves to sugarcane stacked on trucks. See below.

Source: Positive/Upsocl

Captive elephants liberating sugarcane— Asian elephants availing themselves of the food trolley service. “Say, Elmer, what this buffet car lacks in selection, it sure makes up for in quantity.” Source: YouTube/Dee.pack/TrendingVideos
Elephant Blocks Trucks To Steal Bundles Of Sugar Cane From Them This is the moment a sweet-toothed elephant stopped passing trucks so he could steal a trunk full of sugar cane. 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''. The wild elephant then happily took the agricultural products from fully stacked passing trailers in the Wildlife Sanctuary in Chachoengsao, Thailand, on 8 January 2019. Gigantic Auan-tia spent several minutes foraging through each truck in the convoy which had been travelling from a local farm. After sniffing through one vehicle, he looted some food before holding up the next truck in the line and doing the same. His lunch was made up of sugar cane and cassava. Source: YouTube/Newsflare

This African elephant is a real mango lover who would go above and beyond to taste the sweet piece of heaven.
Apparently asian elephants aren’t the only ones to help themselves to their favourite snacks when they’re feeling peckish. This African elephant is a real mango lover who would go above and beyond to taste the sweet piece of heaven. Source: YouTube/Ian Salisbury/The Bushcamp Company/Mfuwe Lodge
Big bull elephant climbs over wall in search of mangoes This big guy wasn't about to let a wall stop him from getting where he wanted to go! He made it look easy, climbing over to come into the Mfuwe Lodge courtyard and then again when he left. Source: YouTube/The Bushcamp Company/Mfuwe Lodge
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