An African elephant celebrated its 10th birthday with a party at a zoo in northeast Thailand.

Nong Sima was given a feast of fresh fruits and vegetables as she marked her first decade at the Korat Zoo in Nakhon Ratchasima province on March 23.

She is the second African elephant at the zoo, and was born to father Ap and mother Jaew in 2013. She also had an older brother named Plub.

Instead of a cake, zookeepers prepared a nutritious spread of tomatoes, watermelons, corn cobs, carrots, bananas, and dragon fruit for the young pachyderm, with schoolchildren greeting her a happy birthday.

The jumbo was seen plucking pieces of food as she savoured the smorgasbord.

The pupils were later given plush toy souvenirs and posed with the zoo's mascots for photos to commemorate Nong Sima's birthday.

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild - down from 100,000 a century ago - and around 3,000 in captivity owned privately. In the wild they are seen wandering freely among protected forests, occasionally appearing on the roads that run through them.

Male Asian elephants, unlike African elephants, roam alone once they are over ten years old while females remain with the herd. They are most during mating season from November to January when they emerge from the jungles in search of a mate.

There is conflict when they come into contact with humans on rural roads and in villages so wildlife rangers are tasked with monitoring their movements.