This is the moment a clever elephant returned a shoe using its trunk after it fell into its zoo enclosure.

Video shows the animal stooping to pick up the footwear before gently dropping it back into the visitor's hand.

The elephant called Shanmai, which means "Mountains," resides at Shendiaoshan Wild Animal Nature Reserve in Weihai, China.

According to a staff member, the elephant first thought the shoe was food but when it realised it wasn't upon picking it up, it returned it to its owner.

Shanmai's keeper rewarded the animal's kind gesture with a watermelon.