A wild elephant wandered through a car park before grabbing food from a trash bin.

The hungry male jumbo named Duan Vanali was first seen approaching a tourist van like it was asking for food in Khao Yai national park in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand on February 23.

A passenger then held out her hand appearing to be calling the elephant but instead of moving towards the vehicle, the jumbo headed for a bin and ate the leftovers.

One of the national park officers said the elephant had been looking for food around the area but warned tourists it would be dangerous to reach out to them in that close distance.

He said: 'It was dangerous to call an elephant-like that, especially the wild ones. This is a national park and not a petting zoo.

'We were shocked when the tourist did that but the van was lucky that the jumbo was calm and didn't mind them.'

The elephant eventually headed back to the woods after eating some food in the bin. No one was reported hurt in the incident.

Elephants are the national animal of Thailand, where killing them carries a maximum prison term of up to three years and a fine of 1,000 baht (25GBP).

An estimated 2,000 elephants are living in the wild and a similar number in captivity. In the wild, they roam through the deep jungle and in the country’s protected national parks, but often encounter humans on roads and in villages.