This heartbreaking footage shows a huge bear lying injured at the side of the road and crying out in pain after being shot.

The badly injured bear was discovered by a repair crew from the local Vangolu Electricity Distribution Team (VEDAS) who saw the injured and moaning bear along the roadside when they were heading to Kazan Valley, in the Cukurca District in Turkey’s Hakkari Province.

Initial reports indicated that the bear had been injured by rockfall, but a later examination revealed that the three-year-old female bear had been shot and paralysed.

The VEDAS team on seeing the injured bear alerted the Provincial Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and the bear was given first aid and taken for necessary treatment in Van Wild Animals Protection and Rehabilitation Center in Van city, Turkey.

The bear has undergone examinations and been given medication, and Prof. Dr. Lokman Aslan, the centre’s head, said: “We have done our first examinations, our first medications, our first checks, and we are continuing her treatment by creating a path forwards for her.”

The bear is reportedly still paralysed, and the bullet also damaged vital organs, however the immediate danger of organ failure appears to have passed, and the problem is now to determine if the bear will ever be able to walk again.

The veterinary expert said it was too early to give a prognosis on what the future held for the bear but added that decisions will be made in consultation with the Nature Conservation National Parks.

He added: “Every gunshot wound is life-threatening. Because the bullet fired from the firearm hit vital organs.

“If we can solve the paralysis, the bear can continue its life.

“As of now, she is overcoming the immediate danger to her life with serums and medication we have given her. But the paralysis situation still continues.”

Hakkari is a province in the southeast of Turkey and a historical mountainous region lying to the south of Lake Van in Turkey.

It is currently unclear if the police are investigating to determine who shot the bear.