Sloth bear mauls forest officials attempting to release it into the wild

Sloth bear mauls forest officials attempting to release it into the wild

In a shocking and dramatic video a sloth bear can be seen attacking forest officials and two veterinarians who were attempting to release it into the wild.

The incident happened on June 17 at around 12:05 PM at Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

Footage filmed from a nearby vehicle shows the bear being let out of its cage and almost immediately charging the filming car.

The two veterinarians, named Dr. Manoharan and Dr. Muthu Krishnan had severe injuries after the bear bit them.

Both are still under treatment in hospital.

According to Dr Muthu Krishnan, who was on the other vehicle: "When the bear was released from cage it became aggressive and attacked us.

I fell from the vehicle and suffered a wrist fracture and the bear bit me as well."