Elephant brings traffic to a standstill after taking a stroll in Thailand

he male Asian elephant held up vehicles for around an hour as he made his way along the long road in Khao Yai National Park, in Thailand

This elephant must have thought he was on a trunk road as he walked between cars - and created a long line of traffic

The huge elephant would often veer off to eat some of the lush vegetation at the road side without any worries for the tourists in their cars nearby.

Photographer Chalit Saphaphak, 30, of Suphanburi, Thailand, said: 'The elephant was on his own. He was in the road and holding up traffic for an hour.

'During this time nobody dared to get him to move off the road. The tourists just let him do what he wanted and go by himself.

The huge elephant would often veer off to eat some of the lush vegetation at the road side without any worries for the tourists in their cars nearby
'The elephant didn't react to the car or anyone in it. But for other elephants, it does depend on the situation.

'If a tourist hurts them, they are scared or feel threatened an elephant can and will step on the car.'

Hungry elephants are known to walk on the National Park's road as - even before the tarmac was laid - the route was a popular one for finding food.halit continued: 'Elephants in Khao Yai National Park travel by road, frequently in the winter and sometimes in the rain.'

'Tourists always get scared when they see an elephant on the road but they understand that it can happen as they are in a national park.

'Some people feel that they are lucky to see something like this because not many people can see elephants like this in the national park.'