This is the shocking moment a man picks up a live dog and throws it at a polar bear - supposedly in a bid to distract the animal from attacking a woman.

The scene at a coastal facility in the Russian Arctic has caused outrage and fuelled demands for retribution, as the bear uses its claws to attack the yelping dog.

A screaming woman off camera appears to encourage the man to throw the dog to what seems to be certain death.

The polar bear had reportedly lunged at a woman at Cape Schmidt in Chukotka, east Russia, after she had tried to feed it chicken bones.

At the start of the video, the animal can be seen hunched over in a small alleyway next to a shipping container, where it was said to be fixated on its female victim.

A man can be seen stood on an adjacent container pinning down a dog he had dragged next to one of its edges.

He then stands and launches the creature like a piece of meat directly at the bear.

A gut-wrenching scene then follows in which the bigger creature pounces on its small victim, which is yelping in distress.

But after several seconds the dog appears to wriggle free, immediately darting under the nearby container.

It is one of two distressing videos of the incident.

The other shows the woman lying on the ground as the bear attacks her and throws her around like a rag doll.

Fortunately, the woman managed to struggle free, according to local media, somehow escaping with only minor injuries and bruising.

The condition of the dog is not known but animal rights groups are reported to have called for an investigation in to the incident.

The video of the man throwing the dog has only just emerged, while the second video was posted previously.