This is the tense moment wild elephants surrounded a car on a quiet road at night.

The jumbos had emerged from the Khao Yai National Park and blocked tourists from passing through the road in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand on December 3.

Video shows an elephant using its foot to tap the car's bumper, terrifying the passengers inside. Other members of the herd were seen sauntering near the highway.

Wildlife officials later arrived and guided the giant animals back into the forest.

The driver said she was afraid the elephants would attack her car so she turned off the engine and 'stayed as still as possible' to avoid spooking the giant beasts.

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.