A large bear that was filmed as it ran wildly across a busy intersection in the middle of a city sparked panic among citizens.

The bear was reportedly first spotted in the streets of Karimnagar, in the Indian state of Telangana on the night of 11th August.

Phone footage shows the sloth bear darting across a road and running around people and shops.

Locals are seen trying to run away from the wild animal.

It stops for a brief moment before it continues to run and enters a residential area.

At the end of the video, a few men, with sticks in their hands, are seen following the animal and shouting to scare it away.

They later alerted authorities and forest officials launched a search for the bear to capture it.

They shot it with a tranquillizer gun and followed it into the nearby woodlands where it eventually succumbed to the tranquillizing effects.

Another piece of footage shows rescuers lifting the passed-out animal – reported to be an 11-year-old female sloth bear – on a carrier they improvised from wooden sticks and a thick piece of fabric.

Officials then moved it into a rescue van and released it back into the wild, local media reported.

They said it likely entered the city in search of food.

The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is a species native to the Indian subcontinent.

Also known as the Indian bear, it is characterised by long, shaggy fur and a mane around the face.

It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss and continuous hunting by humans for food and its long, sickle-shaped claws.