This is the horrifying moment a polar bear was found half-paralysed and with several gunshot wounds in Russia.
An upsetting clip shows the motionless animal in a ditch, looking fatigued and dehydrated.
The bear was malnourished when rescuers were called to the scene on Dikson Island in Arctic Siberia.
Emergency services rushed to the scene to assist the animal, sedating the three-year-old female before giving her first aid.
The polar bear's weight - which should be between 440lbs (200kg) and 660lbs (300kg) - was around 132lbs (60kg).
It is not clear how long the animal had been in the ditch before rescuers were called and how the gunshot wounds were inflicted.
After being rescued, the polar bear was flown to Moscow for treatment.
Svetlana Radionova, the Russian environmental watchdog's chief, said the bear is expected to recover.
She wrote on her Telegram channel: "A veterinarian has performed a checkup of the bear injured on Dikson Island.
"Multiple gunshot wounds have been found - scars made by bullets of various diameters were spotted on the animal's body.
"According to the doctor, the animal was shot with a hand-made buckshot weapon."
It has been reported that the animal cannot move its hind legs due to spinal cord swelling.
Ms Radionova said: "If this suggestion is confirmed, we can make a favourable forecast.
"Now the bear is being given antibiotics and painkillers. A more precise conclusion will be provided later as soon as a detailed analysis of X-ray photographs is carried out."
She explained: "It was the residents of Dikson who told us about the wounded female polar bear.
"The animal was found next to the settlement."
It has been suggested that the starving bear had probably come to the village looking for food.
The watchdog added that a criminal investigation has been launched to determine how the bear was shot.
Over the summer, a polar bear was rescued after getting its tongue caught in a can of condensed milk in Dikson.
A team from Moscow Zoo flew out to tranquilise the animal and removed the sharp metal from its mouth, treating cuts to its tongue.
Earlier this year, photographer Dmitry Kokh discovered polar bears living in an abandoned weather station in Kolyuchin, in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Federation.
The area, which is inaccessible to tourists, offers a great environment for animals to survive and thrive.
