Police launched an investigation after shocking footage showed a bear cub being thrown from a tree and stuffed into a bag.

The incident took place near the village of Novaya Igirma, in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia, earlier this week (May).

The video shows the small bear clinging to a pine tree as one of the men climbs up and tosses it to the ground from a height of at least a dozen feet.

Another man is then seen grabbing the dazed cub by the scruff of its neck and forcing it into a sack as it wriggles in distress.

Cops were alerted after the footage surfaced on Telegram, where it caused widespread fury.

A spokesperson for the Irkutsk Region police said officers had identified the area and urged the men involved to report to the nearest station.

They were later tracked down and identified as three men who worked at a local production base who claimed they spotted the bear cub alone near the site where children were playing.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk said the men told officers they were worried the mother bear might be nearby and decided to return the cub to the forest further away.

She said the animal had been frightened by the men when they tried to catch it and had climbed the tree out of fear.

Volk added that the bear cub was later released back into its natural habitat.

The bear was unharmed despite the rough handling, police confirmed.

(MJ Leidig/newsX)