Curious elephant ‘waves’ at passing kayakers to greet them

A curious elephant waved his trunk at passing kayakers to greet them as they rowed past him in Thailand.

Adorable footage shows the enormous animal standing on the banks of a river while taking a bath when tourists float by in Chiang Mai province.

The elephant wiggles the tip of its trunk up and down as it appears to wave at the group, who seem amazed at the behaviour.

Elephants are native to Thailand, however their population in the wild has shrunk to around 3,000 - 4,000 today from approximately 100,000 a century ago.