A shocking viral video recently surfaced on Twitter showed an animal encounter turned violent when an elephant was provoked.

"You can’t fool an elephant even though he is tamed," the video's caption reads.

The alarming footage begins seemingly innocently and lighthearted.

A young woman stands in front of an idyllic backdrop and holds out a banana to an elephant. In her other hand, she carries the remaining bunch.

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A large elephant walks behind her, and seemingly tries to eat the banana it is offered.

Yet the woman loses her shoe and pulls the banana away, walking backwards and laughing about the mishap. At the same time, she appears to be teasing the animal – even if inadvertently.

"What's up buddy?" a cameraperson can be heard saying in the background. The two clearly trust the elephant, as they're very close to it.

Seconds later, the elephant's body language suddenly changes and it charges straight at the woman with the bananas.

With its tusks in front, you can see how the massive animal flings the young woman into the air with ease.

The incident happens in a flash, as the camera crashes to the ground and ends abruptly.

The video was uploaded by Susanta Nanda, whose Twitter profile says he works with the Indian Forest Service. He regularly shares videos and photos of encounters with wild animals, often including warnings and advice on what to do when interacting with a wild beast.

It is unclear exactly where or when the incident in the clip took place. In the caption, he makes it clear that you should never provoke animals, no matter how tempting or harmless it may seem.

"They are one of the most intelligent animals to be in captivity," Nanda writes of elephants. The mammals are the largest land animal on Earth and one of the strongest.

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It is not known how badly the young woman was injured or her current condition, although many users have speculated in the comments.

"Hope she survived the attack," one commenter wrote.

The clip has been viewed over 300,000 times.

As one user summed up, "I always roam in and around jungle, and these are the ones I keep an eye for... And always stay at least a 100 meters from them when and if i see them."

Many more cautioned that it is extremely important to give respect - and above all space - to nature and its inhabitants.