A wild elephant climbed a set of stairs and wandered over to Buddhist monks chanting their morning prayers in a temple cave.

The jumbo ascended the steps that led to Wat Tham Sarika temple at the top, where the orange-robed men gathered before sunrise to pray in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand, on December 26, shortly before 5 am.

CCTV footage shows the large animal walking up the stone steps. It startled the monks who stopped their chanting when they saw it approaching behind.

The elephant was only 10ft (3m) away from the men seated on the floor surrounded by Buddha statues enclosed in glass cases.

A monk said: 'It was the first time that it entered the temple premises.'

However, the elephant did not hurt anyone and immediately left when the monks shouted.

Wat Tham Sarika is a Buddhist temple situated on a small mountain. The cave within the temple complex, Tham Sarika, is a popular spot for visitors.

It was the retreat of Luang Pu Man Phurithatto, one of Thailand's most respected monks. Between 1907 and 1910, Luang Pu Man lived and meditated at Wat Tham Sarika, making it an important pilgrimage site for his followers.

Thailand has up to 3,500 elephants in the wild. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in the country at the beginning of the 20th century.