A hungry wild bear was seen visiting a Buddhist temple in Thailand.

The Asian black bear wandered into the temple’s compound while searching for food around the forest in Nakhon Nayok province, on October 8.

It was then spotted sniffing around the gates where small golden elephant statues were displayed after smelling a dish cooking from inside the structure.

Footage shows the bear curiously checking the buckets placed around the statues at Phra Siam Thevathirat temple located inside Khao Yai National Park.

Monk Kruba Suntaro said: ‘The bear visit every day but never hurt anybody. Whenever we have a nice-smelling dish being cooked, the bear searches for food nearby and shows up at the gate.’

In August, an Asian black bear visited a restaurant at the same national park while tourists were cooking an omelette.

Thailand is home to two types of bear species, the Asian Black Bear – the moon bear – and the Malayan sun bear also known as the honey bear. T​here are 445 bears in captivity in Thailand as of 2006.