What IS this scary looking beast which can chew through its steel cage?

The description for the unsettling video - uploaded to YouTube last week by Raymond Yeung – claims it was captured in the Shenzhen Reservoir in China's Sand Bay.

The clawed creature - which some say is a rare bear - can be seen aggressively biting through the cage with a visibly bleeding mouth before ripping the metal wire apart with its limbs. 

The vision has fuelled heated debates around the species of the ambiguous beast, with a string of different accounts coming to light.

According to the video description, the animal was discovered swimming in Shenzhen Reservoir in China's Sand Bay.

It was reportedly fished out of the water by workers from the Department of Drainage, who later captured the animal in a steel cage.

The clip has sparked heated debates on Chinese social media site WeiBo, with some users claiming it depicts a 'water monster' from Chinese folklore.

Other users alluded to the creature being impacted by pollution, with Shenzhen Reservoir being recently deluged with toxic sewerage that turned parts of the region blood red.

Some claimed it was in fact a Malaysian Bear who was suffering from alopecia, a disease which causes baldness.

A similar video surfaced in January of an ailing sun bear in Borneo island in Malaysia, which had been beaten by local plantation workers and driven into the bush.

It was reported this month that the animal was discovered at another nearby plantation, where it is being nursed back to health.

David Neal, the director of Animals Asia, told Daily Mail Australia the caged animal 'looks like a bear cub which is suffering from some medical condition which has caused it to loose all of its fur.'

While he was unable to confirm if it was the same bear from the Borneo clip, he said he suspects it is and that the footage originates from Borneo not China.

(dailymail.co.uk)