A male bear quietly snuck up on two fishermen trying to catch salmon as they posed for a photo, oblivious of the danger lurking only feet behind them!

When the photographer alerted them, the fearless duo simply shrugged it off and continued fishing in the river.

Wildlife photographer Robert Hawthrone photographed the moment a brown bear crept up on the two men as they posed for the camera.

The incident took place on a creek in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

21-year-old Hawthorne warned the two fishermen as the male bear waited behind them. “Believe it or not, the fishermen were thinking about nothing but their fishing. They were oblivious to the bear behind them. I believe this photo strikes a nerve for a lot of people.

“Many people shiver and recoil when they see it, imagining themselves in the fishermen’s shoes. And then they immediately ask, ‘What happened next? Are they alive?’ People can’t imagine being that close to a bear and not being attacked, and I don’t blame them.

“The bear truly was not interested in the fishermen, although he may have been interested to see if they had caught a fish for stealing.”

He was guiding a photography tour in the area when he photographed the extraordinary moment.

“The fishermen did have a good startle when they realised their spectator, but it was clear he was not threatening so they quickly returned to fishing,” he said.

“When given protection such as a habitat like Katmai National Park, and especially when bears are so focused on a single food source like salmon, close and passive encounters can happen daily without risk of attack.

“This is more of a common occurrence than you think. The bears walk up and down the banks looking to find sockeye salmon to catch.

“It can happen several times a day that you have a bear walk close behind you.”

He also said that bears rarely want to hurt people. “They make their rounds walking up and down the banks, only stopping to take a dive after some fish. The bear was looking right past the fishermen into the water hoping to see salmon ready for the catching.

“After the bear had a good look around for salmon, he continued his walk downstream.”

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