Elephant finds charging station annoying, decides to remove it

A late-night encounter between a herd of wild elephants and an electric vehicle charging station in China has turned into an unlikely viral spectacle after one elephant got caught up in a charging cable and another appeared to respond by knocking the station over.

The incident took place on the night of August 6 in Nanbanghe village, Liushun town, in Simao district of Pu'er city, Yunnan province, according to reports. The area is known for the presence of wild Asian elephants, making an elephant encounter less unusual than it might sound elsewhere.

CCTV footage from the charging station shows a herd wandering around the area when one of the elephants gets its leg tangled in a charging cable. The animal appears to struggle with the cable before another elephant moves in. The second elephant then pushes the charging cabinet over with its trunk. And that is the moment that has made the footage so entertaining for viewers online.

The incident reportedly happened at around 10 pm, with the CCTV recording showing the encounter at about 10.27 pm. The herd was reported to include eight wild Asian elephants along with several calves.

The charging station did not escape the encounter unscathed. Reports said the charging gun cable was damaged, although the main cable was not broken. The initial loss was estimated at around 20,000 yuan.

The video was later shared widely on social media, where viewers jokingly interpreted the elephant's actions as a furious response to the cable getting in the way of its companion.

An X post shared on August 7 described the incident in similarly playful terms, saying that the charging-station cable had caught the leg of a female elephant before a male elephant angrily stepped forward and pushed the station over.

The scene has also prompted plenty of discussion about the protective behaviour of elephants. Herds offer protection to their members, particularly younger elephants, and footage of adults responding when calves are in trouble has previously attracted widespread attention.

Whether the elephant was actually taking revenge, however, is impossible to know from the footage alone. What is clear is that the charging station ended up on the losing side of an unexpected encounter with one of Yunnan's most famous wild residents.

8月6日晚，中国云南，一群野象在路上闲逛，因为充电桩的线绊了母象的腿，公象气愤地上前将充电桩推倒。🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/K78dDFIv6G

— 作家崔成浩 (@cuichenghao) August 7, 2026