This is the shocking moment a hungry wild elephant raided a family's home in Thailand.

The male jumbo named Biang Lek was searching for food when he broke into the kitchen in woodland in Nakhon Ratchasima province on March 8.

Footage shows the 23-year-old bull getting stuck in a canopy as it attempts to enter the house. It then moves away, searching for another entrance, before the clip shows the jumbo loitering under the house.

The homeowner said the animal did not take anything because she had placed the food in a safer location, but her pots, pans, plates, and bowls were damaged.

She said: 'I am used to seeing elephants because there are many in the forest. They walk across the roads. But it was scary when this one attacked my house.'

There are believed to be up to 3,500 elephants living in the wild 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 the country at the beginning of the 20th century.

The main threats to the beasts are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.

Elephants are known for their voracious appetite. The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) found they need to eat up to 150kg of food per day - the equivalent of 375 tins of baked beans.

Though the elephants are usually not aggressive, there have been several fatal elephant attacks in Thailand in recent years - with at least four in January alon.

On January 3, Spanish tourist Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, 22, was struck by an elephant she was bathing at the Koh Yao Elephant Care centre in Phang Nga province. She reportedly slipped and accidentally grabbed its trunk, causing the animal to smash her against the rocky pool.

On January 17, farmer Anukoon Khampraphai, 42, was trampled to death by a wild jumbo he crashed into, also in Trat province.

On January 19, Anan Chorawek, 53, was killed by a bull named Seedor Sab at his orchard in Trat province. He reportedly set off fireworks trying to drive Seedor Sab away, but the loud noise only enraged the pachyderm. It charged at him and trampled him to death.

While on January 31, forager Aphisit Yakrasan, 47, was brutally attacked by a tusker in heat in Nakhon Ratchasima province. He had been collecting mushrooms when the animal emerged from the forest and stomped on him to death.