This is the incredible moment wildlife volunteers had an extraordinary encounter with a wild elephant in Thailand.

Five members of charity Jungle Aid were on their way to a village in Prachuap Khiri Khan to distribute supplies when the jumbo appeared from the woods and approached their car on June 24.

Footage shows how the elephant, its ears flapping, walked over to the vehicle as it traversed the Pala-U road. The creature came close, briefly glancing at the car and nearly brushing its side, then carried on trundling along the road.

Following the encounter, the volunteers proceeded to a nearby village to donate food and medicine to residents.

Jungle Aid is a private charity that assists people in need in remote areas of Thailand.

As of 2023, there are an estimated 3,084-3,500 wild elephants in Thailand. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The main threats to wild elephants in Thailand are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.