Car thief thought to have mistaken elephant poo for marijuana

A thief rifling through a vehicle parked on the lawn of a home in Fremont, California ignored a cheque book, spare change, and an expensive pillow, stealing only elephant poo.

Police say items were strewn throughout the Chevrolet Suburban, which has a cow-patterned paint job and horns on the bonnet, but the only thing missing was a bag of elephant dung.

It's unclear how the thief got inside the car but the theft occurred sometime between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning in the Niles area of Fremont, police said.

The homeowner, Krysten Laine, explained: "We got it as a gag gift in the mail at our business from an anonymous person. My guess, they thought it was a bag of pot," she said. "Maybe it's the new fad drug."