This is the amusing moment a wild elephant walked into a home - to steal a single banana.

The hungry jumbo Plai Chupong, also known as Plai Matoom, ambled into a teachers' dormitory in Chanthanaburi province, Thailand to grab a midnight snack on January 10.

CCTV footage shows the animal emerging from the Khao Khitchakut National Park next to the building in the Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok campus.

Like a bloodhound, it zeroed in on a pickup truck parked under a tent and found one plastic-wrapped banana lying on the cargo bed.

The clever pachyderm plucked the fruit from the vehicle and unwrapped it using one foot and its trunk before shoving the treat into its mouth.

Seemingly satisfied with its meal, Plai Chupong sauntered off back into the woods.

Residents only discovered that the elephant had paid them a visit after finding a trail of flattened banana trees he had left in his wake.

Prayot Sroison, an elephant monitoring volunteer, said Plai Chupong had left his herd and would roam around in search of food in the province's Khao Khitchakut district.

He added: 'Plai Chupong sometimes enter's local's gardens to get some food, but he has never attacked anyone.'

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild where they wander freely among protected forests. Male Asian elephants, unlike African elephants, roam alone once they are over 10 years old while females remain with the herd.

Wildlife officials believe that smart wild elephants have honed the habit of stealing fresh food from vehicles, which provide a plentiful source of food.

However, it is not because they are hungry. Officials believe elephants simply target homes and trucks because they prefer the tastier food over what they can forage for in the jungle.

Elephants are protected animals in Thailand and killing them carries a maximum prison term of up to three years and a fine of 1,000 baht (25GBP).