Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xz3uloonm06whdq/VRP57315.mp4?dl=0
This is the moment a wild elephant walked into a deserted school as it remained closed due to Covid-19 in Thailand.
The male jumbo named Sarika was seen strolling through the quiet compound as students and teachers shifted to online classes in Nakhon Nayok province on August 15.
Footage shows the animal wandering across the playground next to classrooms after the area was drenched with morning rain showers.
It then went behind the school after surveying the area where there was a trail leading back to the forest and began searching for food.
Onlooker Badin Janseekam said: ‘I thought it was cute the way Sarika was walking in an empty school. I guess he must be thinking where everybody was.’
Elephants are the national animal of Thailand. An estimated 2,000 elephants are living in the wild and a similar number in captivity.
In the wild, they roam through the deep jungle and in the country’s protected national parks but often encounter humans on roads and in villages. However, they are protected by laws and killing them carries a maximum prison term of up to three years and a fine of 1,000 baht (25GBP).