Wild Bear Mauls Man, Goes on Rampage on Streets in India [Graphic Video]

New Delhi (Sputnik): Ever since the country entered nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, numerous images and videos of wild animals taking over streets have gone viral on social media.

Panic gripped families living in India's Bhawanipatna town of Odisha state after a wild bear strayed into a residential area on Friday.

The animal attacked a person and inflicted injuries upon him. 

In a video posted on social media, the bear is seen mauling a man on a roadside while two other men try to save him by attacking the animal with wooden sticks. Another clip shows hundreds of locals running around to save themselves from the bear and climbing onto cars and walls nearby.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO IS GRAPHIC AND MAY OFFEND SENSIBILITIES  

Save #wildlife😔

Bear attacks a man in bhawanipatna town today morning.😞😞#StayAware_StaySafe#StayHomeStaySafe🏠#savethewild
@kalahandia @AKalahandia @KldUlb_Bhpatna @otvnews @sambad_odisha @dfokl_bhpatna @Amar_BhPatna @Kalahandia1 pic.twitter.com/RHPrp5qku8

— Tirlochan Singh☬ (@tirlochan64) August 21, 2020

Bhawanipatna Lic office pass ka bhalu attack pic.twitter.com/fGIa7JyCdV

— bantyrahul mangaraj (@bantyrahulmang3) August 21, 2020

​According to local forest official Nitish Kumar of Odisha’s Kalahandi district, police spotted the bear during a regular patrol and informed the Forest Department, which tackles such incidents related to wild animals.