A Russian man had his hand ripped off by a caged bear when he reached the animal to stroke or pat it ignoring his friends’ warnings.

The footage was taken in Murmanskaya Oblast, in the country’s far north west and shows the man screaming out in pain as the bear clamps its teeth around his arm.

Seconds earlier his friends had shouted ‘you f***ing idiot, don’t do it!’, as Daily Mail reports.

But the man ignored them and approached the animal. Moments later the bear grabs the arm of the man and stands up as the victim struggles desperately to free himself.

Moments later the bear strikes, grabbing hold of the man and stands up as the victim struggles desperately to free himself.

The man is believed to have lost his forearm up to his elbow in the attack.