A female elk dramatically crashed into a glass window while apparently trying to escape a busy road, before stumbling backwards and fleeing to a nearby wooded area.

The incident happened in the city of Barnaul, in Russia’s Altai Krai province, on Wednesday, 7th May.

CCTV footage showed the young elk without horns and therefore a female sprinting along the road before turning and attempting to leap through the front window of a house.

The animal hit the glass hard and landed flat on its back.

Seconds later it regained its footing, looked dazed, then galloped off towards a small cluster of trees.

The elk had reportedly wandered in to an urban area to look for a mate and, "out of fear," charged the window, apparently trying to escape the urban environment.

It then continued into a nearby forest plantation.

Spring is the start of the mating season for elk in this region, when many specimens leave their habitats in search of a mate.

Encounters with humans often increase around this time due to disoriented or hormonal animals venturing into towns and cities.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)