This is the cruel moment a passenger reaches out of a car window and lobs a bottle at the head of a bear standing peacefully on the roadside.

The vile scenes were filmed on the famous Transfagarasan Highway near the Vidraru Dam in Romania.

It is not clear when the footage dates from, but the incident was widely reported by local media on 26th June.

The clip was filmed from inside a car directly behind the grey Opel Astra with numberplates from Arges County in which the man was travelling.

After it was widely shared online, netizens were outraged.

One commented: “The audacity of the man knows no bounds. Measures need to be taken to hold these individuals from Arges accountable.

“We cut down their forests, we mistreat them, and then we complain when they come near us.”

Another wrote to local media: “I believe this individual deserves your attention because unfortunately, the Police in Pitesti did not give it the attention it deserved, considering it to be something normal and just a stain on Romania’s online image.”

According to local media, the police are searching for the passenger in question, as well as the individual behind the wheel of the car.

Local media also reported that the vehicle seen in the footage was uninsured.

Romania is home to 60 per cent of Europe’s brown bears.

There are believed to be more than 200,000 brown bears in the world, of which 6,000 roam Romania’s forests in the Carpathian Mountains.

Under Romanian law, it is illegal to cause harm, suffering, or distress to animals, including domestic, farm, and wild animals.