Drew Hamilton, a fish and wildlife technician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, filmed a close encounter he had with a brown bear while working in the field this summer, according to the description of a video recently uploaded to YouTube.
The video, reportedly shot at Southcentral Alaska's McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge, shows a brown bear amble up to Hamilton, stand for a moment and sit down just a few feet away from where Hamilton is sitting.
The video was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday and had been viewed more than a quarter-million times by Wednesday morning.
The McNeil River is a well-known viewing site for brown bears, which congregate at the river to catch salmon. As many as 74 bears have been observed at the river at one time, according to the Department of Fish and Game.
Reach Laurel Andrews at laurel@alaskadispatch.com.
By LAUREL ANDREWS
laurel@alaskadispatch.com