This wild elephant has become a familiar sight among villagers as it makes yearly trips to their community during Buddhist lent.

Footage shows the creature named Plai Krae plodding along a residential area in Nakhon Ratchasima province, with locals greeting it as it passed by on August 2.

Plai Krae, also called Krae Yan Wang, leaves its habitat in the Khao Yai National Park every during the Buddhist lent season to look for food.

Villagers said it usually stays around the community for around three to four months before retreating back into the wildlife sanctuary.

Plai Krae is not known to be aggressive, except when threatened by stray dogs. However, farmers said he sometimes causes trouble when he devours their crops, forcing them to call wildlife officials to drive him away.

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.