Elephants in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok, were treated to a fruit buffet today as elephant handlers known as 'mahouts' celebrated National Elephant Day.

The celebration, chaired by Ayutthaya's Govenor Apichart Todilokvech, kicked off with a religious ceremony performed by monks for elephants that have recently died due to natural causes and illnesses.

The monks then gave blessings to elephants, their handlers and foreign volunteers.

Apart from conserving the gentle giants, elephant handlers in Ayutthaya are hoping that one day National Elephant Day will be marked has a 'day-off' for the animal.

A national symbol of Thailand, elephants are praised as a sacred animal among Thais.

They're often subjected to hard labour and have long been hunted for their ivory and exploited for tourism.

Today, around 6,000 elephants are estimated to remain in the Southeast Asian nation, with about half of them domesticated.