This is the terrifying moment a large brown bear is seen charging toward a Southern California hiker in Angeles National Forest, as the man makes the unusual decision to move toward the animal.<\/p>\n
In the video, a man dressed in hiking gear and wearing a hat is seen walking toward the bear rather than away and shaking bells in an apparent attempt to scare it off.<\/p>\n
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Instead, the agitated animal appears to charge toward him before the video cuts off. <\/p>\n
The close, face-to-face encounter just feet apart was captured by another hiker nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking this guy is crazy, and I hope nothing happens to him,\u201d Erin Chiu, who recorded the video, told local publication NBCLA<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure what was going through his mind, to be honest, because the last thing you would expect is for someone to actually walk toward a bear. At that point, I was a little concerned for his safety.\u201d<\/p>\n Chiu told the network he hikes the same trail at least three times a week for about 16km each time and had never seen a bear there until now.<\/p>\n He said he and his friends hiked up the trail and hid behind bushes to let the animal pass, avoiding any confrontation.<\/p>\n The hiker was eventually able to slowly back away as the bear moved toward him. <\/p>\n Experts say the most important thing to remember if you encounter a bear is simple: do not run.<\/p>\n According to the National Park Service, running can trigger a chase response, as bears can easily outrun humans.<\/p>\n Instead, people should remain calm, stand their ground, and speak in a low voice so the animal recognises them as human, as most encounters end without injury when the bear does not feel threatened.<\/p>\n Bear sightings, such as this one which occurred in Arcadia in Los Angeles County, have become increasingly common, particularly in foothill communities like Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Castaic, and Arcadia.<\/p>\n