A huge wild elephant checked out cars stuck in a traffic jam along a forest road.

The jumbo emerged from the forest and approached the vehicles lining up on a lane in Khao Yai National Park on January 23.

It then curiously approached them one by one, sniffing around and peeking at windows.

Footage shows the creature walking along the concrete path to have a look at what's happening.

Varuniias Saii who was in the car said: ‘It seemed to be inspecting us like a wildlife officer. It didn't hurt anyone, it was just curious.

‘I've been to Khao Yai many times before. The elephant stopped by to say hello in the car.'

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild where they wander freely among protected forests. Male Asian elephants, unlike African elephants, roam alone once they are over 10 years old while females remain with the herd.

There is sometimes conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages so wildlife rangers are tasked with monitoring their movements.

An estimated 3,000 elephants in the country are also kept in captivity to work in the tourist industry or at religious festivals and weddings. A small number still work in commercial logging.