A wild elephant sprang a leak in a village water system in Thailand.

The jumbo wandered into the residential area while looking for food and water in Nakhon Ratchasima province, on February 6.

It was said to have dismantled a 50-metre stretch of water pipes, cutting off the water supply to the nearby village.

Local district chief Prasit Naebchimphon said the elephant, estimated to be around 20 years old, had been living near the Lam Phra Phloeng Dam for around two years.

He said: 'This elephant has caused a lot of trouble for the villagers, because in the past three days, the water pipe has been broken. It was probably thirsty and looking for water.'

Prasit urged villagers to be patient as repairmen worked to replace the damaged pipes. However, the presence of other elephants in the forest was hampering repair work.

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.

The main threats to wild elephants in Thailand are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.