A man has been killed by a bear after reportedly trying to take a selfie with the animal.

The bear was spotted by Prabhu Bhatara on his way home from a wedding in the Nabarangpur district of Odisha in India, The Independent reported. Mr Bhatara reportedly approached the bear, who appeared to be injured, despite his fellow passengers advising him not to.

When the man tried to take a selfie with the animal it became aggressive and a struggle ensued. According to forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohaptra, Mr Bhatara "died on the spot". A stray dog had intervened in the struggle, biting the larger animal, according to The Independent. The bear was alive and is being treated for injuries.

A large amount of selfie-related deaths have occurred in India over the past two years. Research conducted by Carnegie Mellon University and Indraprastha Institute of Information Delhi found 76 reported selfie deaths out of 127 between March 2014 and September 2016 took place in India.

In one 2016 case, seven people aged 16 to 31 were swept away and drowned while taking a selfie in the river Ganges in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. In 2017, two youths 21 and 22 years old from Hooghly district, India, drowned in a fish pond while taking a selfie. They did not know how to swim.

The Washington Post reported in January 2016 "about half" of at least 27 "selfie-related" deaths in 2015 had occurred in India.

In February this year, four New Zealand women drowned after taking selfies on a rock in a river and ignoring a warning siren signalling a dam was about to be opened.

Newshub.