This is the beautiful moment a large family of wild elephants held up traffic while they crossed a rural road in Thailand.

The herd of more than 40 jumbos - including babies walking in step with their mothers - emerged from woodland in Kanchanaburi province on March 24.

Driver Chaiwat watched the spectacular rare scene as the entire family emerged in single file to cross the winding mountain highway and enter the jungle on the other side.

There were fully grown female Asian elephants, juveniles and babies little more than a year old.

Chaiwat said: 'I feel so lucky to have seen such a beautiful sight. It's quite rare to see an elephant so it's very special to see the whole herd.

'I was surprised at how peaceful they were. They seemed like they didn't notice me or my car. I stayed well back because I didn't want to scare them.'

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild but they sometimes come into contact with humans on roads and in villages. A similar number of elephants are kept captive where they work in zoos and are hired out for religious festivals and weddings.

In the wild, male Asian elephants tend to roam alone and alone join with females, known as cows, when it is time to breed.