A mama bear and her cubs befriended a group of tourists after being chased by an aggressive male.
Visitors were stunned to see the bear family at such close quarters.
Tour guide and nature photographer Casey Cooper filmed the bear and her three cubs coming within a few feet of them.
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He said the mother bear was chased by an aggressive boar, a term for a male bear.
He filmed the encounter near Copper Centre, Alaska, US.
Casey told What’s The Jam: “The Alaskan Brown bear brought her cubs over to us after being chased by a big boar on the coast of Alaska.”
The professional bear guide, who has over 10 years of experience, added: “We set up in low tide to view this bear from about 100 yards away.
“From the other side, a boar chased her and her cubs in our direction.
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“Making sure not to startle her by standing and moving around, we stayed put.
“I spoke to her calmly throughout the encounter, she continued clamming near us but then carried on with the cubs.
Although close encounters are intentionally avoided because bears can be unpredictable, sometimes there is no option but to get out of the way.
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“So we remained calm and let the encounter take its course.
“It’s important to understand this was a coastal brown bear that is used to humans being around, she understands we are not a threat.
“This would have played out differently with a non-habituated bear.”
He added, “If you ever intend on coming to Alaska to see bears on the coast, always hire an experienced guide.
“Never approach bears under any circumstances. This was a unique situation in this region, and I have been around this particular bear and others like her here for over 10 years.
“There is nowhere else in the world I would feel more comfortable being this close to a bear with her cubs.”
The video went viral on his TikTok page with 4.4 million views and thousands of comments.
It happened on Tuesday (8 Jul).
One local said, “It’s crazy that the bear is just right there.”
“You don’t have to be the fastest in the crowd to survive a momma bear, just faster than the slowest guy,” joked JP.
Michael added: “Playing a dangerous game of poker right there.”
Casey has filmed the same bear family several times in the past.
He last spotted them walking through a field before the mother bear “launched her cub off her back” at the beginning of the month.
At the end of June, he filmed them frolicking on a beach at sunset.
Casey said, “Even after 10 years of being a bear guide, it never gets old.”
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