Damdim (India) - A video from India showing a fight between a wild elephant and a construction vehicle has caused a wave of outrage online.

These are disturbing scenes that were apparently recorded in a field in West Bengal : An elephant angrily charges towards a yellow backhoe loader, crashing its head against the front bucket and almost causing the construction machine to tip over.

The animal then tries to flee amid loud screams from eyewitnesses as the vehicle chases him.

According to News18, the elephant had ventured out of the Apalchand forest in search of food when it was spotted by locals. In response, the locals had chased and provoked it. A mixture of fear and anger then apparently drove the animal to attack the backhoe loader and a watchtower nearby.

It is unclear whether the elephant was able to escape afterwards. Local media report that the pachyderm was injured on its forehead and trunk in the incident on February 1. On the human side, all those present are said to have escaped unharmed.

The man who had provoked the elephant was arrested by the police shortly afterwards. The "JBC" construction machine was also confiscated.

After the video landed on the internet, it quickly gained attention. Users are shocked at how callously the locals treated the wild animal, which was only out looking for food.

"Anyone who knows elephants would tell you that elephants don't just react with anger unless they are overly pressured to do so," writes one user under the clip on "X".

Others call for all the people seen in the video to be "arrested". Another says: "The forestry authorities should intervene, otherwise these animals will only be seen in books in a few years' time."