Wildlife rangers pushed dozens of elephants back to the forest after invading a village and destroying crops in Thailand.

Officers from the Thap Lan National Park were sent to the area to guide the 40-strong herd back to their habitat after damage to a neighbouring village was happening for more than a week in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The team flew thermal drones to locate the jumbos and found them devastating a field.

Footage shows two jumbos walking along a field, while in another clip, the herd could be seen roaming a farm together on January 13.

Village official Manoch Techatat said: ‘It was the first year wild elephants reached our area and destroyed our crops. They entered around 9 pm. There were only a few until more were spotted.'

The rangers took six hours before they found the elephants. They spread out and drove the animals back to the forest by shouting and making sounds. The operation was successful after seven hours.

After the operation, the rangers said they would continuously monitor the area to keep the elephants from returning.

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild, where they wander freely among protected forests. There is sometimes conflict when they come into contact humans on roads and in villages, so wildlife rangers are tasked with monitoring their movements.