This was the beautiful moment a herd of wild elephants went for a walk along a mountain road in Thailand.

The extended family of around 25 pachyderms was seen in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northern Thailand.

Wildlife officials said it was rare to see such a large number of elephants on the road together.

It took rangers an hour to steer them back towards the jungle.

They believe that the herd had taken a wrong turn from their usual forest walk-a-about and ended up on the asphalt, with the larger adult elephants walking on the edges of the road while keeping the juveniles tucked safely in the middle during the trek.

Chief vet Pattarapon Maneeon from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation urged motorists to be careful. He said: ''Sometimes one or two may walk onto the road. It is unusual to see a large herd like this walking together. 'Wild elephants have a very good sense of touch and vibration so drivers and especially tourists should be particularly careful. Don't leave the car when encountering wild elephants.''

Pattarapon said that park officials would now be monitoring the elephants to ensure that they are safe. He added: ''They can be dangerous to tourists when they are disturbed so it is important that they are protected. Taking pictures of the elephants should only be done from a distance.''

This was the beautiful moment a herd of wild elephants went for a walk along a mountain road - sandwiching the little calves in the middle to keep the safe.

The extended family of around 25 pachyderms were seen at 9am in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northern Thailand. Wildlife officials said it was rare to see such a large number of elephants take to the road together. It took rangers an hour to steer them back towards the jungle. They believe that the herd had taken a wrong turn from their usual forest walk-a-about and ended up on the asphalt, with the larger adult elephants walking on the edges of the road while keeping the juveniles tucked safely in the middle during the trek in the unknown environment. Chief vet Pattarapon Maneeon from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation urged motorists to be careful of wild elephants. He said: ''Sometimes one or two may walk onto the road. It is unusual to see a large herd like this walking together. 'Wild elephants have a very good sense of touch and vibration so drivers and especially tourists should be particularly careful. Don't leave the car when encountering wild elephants.''

Pattarapon said that park officials would now be monitoring the elephants seen on the road to ensure that they are safe. He added: ''They can be dangerous to tourists when they are disturbed so it is important that they are protected. Taking pictures of the elephants should only be done from a distance.''

The elephants were seen in the the Khao Yai National Park, 2,200 square km area.