A hungry wild elephant wandered through homes while looking for food in Thailand.

Footage shows the male jumbo named Deaw strolling towards the wooden homes in Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima province on April 24. It rummaged through the branches of a tree in a garden, apparently in search of fruit to eat.

Onlooker Oatchara Mekpoyom said: 'I think the elephant must have been hungry. He was probably visiting the houses to find food.'

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

Conservationists believe that they are becoming much more confident around humans, regularly walking into villages and stopping cars to look for food.