Bears make for majestic wildlife photo subjects, but get too close and they may just start eyeing you up \u2013 either out of self-defence or, worse, as prey, as one photographer recently found out the scary way.<\/p>\n
Kai Snyder (kaiseed0<\/a>), a professional chef and amateur photographer, was out snapping in the Lake Clark National Park Reserve in Alaska when she came across an enormous Alaskan brown bear lapping up water from a river.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After a few moments, the bear\u2019s survival instincts kicked in \u2013 it turned its attention to Kai, giving her the most bone-chilling stare. Fortunately for the photographer, the river stood between her and the beast.<\/p>\n Alaskan brown bears weigh anywhere from 200 to over 1,500 pounds (around 90 to 680kg) depending on their sex, the season and their location.<\/p>\n More commonly known as grizzly bears \u2013 although not the only type of grizzly bear \u2013 they can be found in mainland Alaska, heavily populating the southern coastal regions and the Kodiak Archipelago.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Incidents of Alaskan grizzlies attacking photographers are rare, but have happened.<\/p>\n In 2012, a California hiker was mauled and killed while taking photos<\/a> of a 600-pound grizzly. Photos recovered from the man\u2019s camera showed that he\u2019d come within 50 yards (45 meters) of the grazing bear, violating park rules that mandate a quarter-mile (402 meter) distance.<\/p>\n While we don\u2019t know how close to the bear Snyder was, we do know that this wasn\u2019t her first encounter with a grizzly. In fact, the Alaska resident has said in other TikTok<\/a> clips that she\u2019s \u201cso stoked to live in a place where bears walking through the yard is an everyday occurrence.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m glad to see that this latest and viral encounter ended safely for the photographer, and hope to see more of her work soon. There are a couple of shots on her Instagram<\/a> of grizzly bears that are very nicely composed.<\/p>\n You might also like\u2026<\/p>\n Discover our expert picks of the best cameras for wildlife photography<\/a> and the best lenses for bird photography and wildlife<\/a>.<\/p>\n