Terrifying footage shows bear jumping and ’sizing up’ hikers

The internet is freaking out over footage of people being incredibly unconcerned about a black bear getting up close and personal with people.

What would you do if a bear came up to you? The answer probably isn't 'take a selfie with it', but that's exactly what happened.

Footage showed the bear getting up close to a group of hikers in Mexico in 2020 and the woman that the bear took particular interested in even grabbed a selfie with it.

As you can probably guess this wasn't the best of ideas, as while the bear duly posed for a picture before heading off, it then suddenly remembered it was a bear and went back.

The camera then spotted the moment the bear tried to bite the woman on the leg and swing at her with its paws, though even then the animal seemed quite unenthusiastic about making her its next meal.

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And the internet is pretty sure the bear was sizing up its next meal and the hikers made a mistake by not making it leave.

One said the hikers 'shouldn't even let it get that close', citing that they live in a part of the world with 'hella bears, son'.

Another said that the bears in that part of the world were 'mostly messing with trashcans' and will tend to 'run off when spooked', adding that authorities would probably have tried to relocate the bear to somewhere further away from humans.

If you ever have the misfortune to encounter a bear while out in the wild, there's a little rhyme which will help you figure out what to do: "If it's black fight back, if it's brown lie down, if it's white good night."

Basically if you come across a black bear and it's genuinely trying to kill you then you should fight back like your life depends on it because in that moment it probably does.

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A grizzly or brown bear attacking you dictates that you should lie down, cover your head and neck, and try not to make any noise, and if it leaves then still do that for a few minutes until you're sure it's gone.

Should you be unlucky enough to come across a polar bear, however, which is charging at you then you're definitely going to have to fight for your life, but it might be an idea to let anyone else in the vicinity know what sort of songs you'd like played at your funeral.

Black and brown bears can sometimes do something called a 'bluff charge' where they'll run right up to you, if that happens make yourself look big and talk to the bear calmly and after it veers away back away slowly.

If it's coming right at you at full speed with head down and ears back then it's probably not a bluff and the bear is genuinely intent on doing you harm, at which point follow the instructions of the rhyme.