WATCH: Massive Brown Bear Charges Hiker in Angeles National Forest, His Reaction Goes Viral

Humans act like they’re at the very top of the food chain – until a bear walks by.

A Ursine encounter is one of the most terrifying experiences in the natural world.

There are various schools of thought about what a person should (or should not) do when faced with such a situation.

Yesterday (22), a terrifying video surfaced showing a massive brown bear charging toward a hiker in California’s Angeles National Forest.

One peculiar aspect of the video is that the hiker makes the unusual – and apparently unadvisable – decision to move towards the animal, instead of backing down.

The New York Post reported:

“In the video, a man dressed in hiking gear and wearing a hat is seen walking toward the bear—not away—and shaking bells in an apparent attempt to scare it off.

Instead, the agitated animal appears to charge toward him before the video cuts off. The close, face-to-face encounter—just feet apart—was captured by another hiker nearby.”

In video of the harrowing incident, the hiker appears to be looking for an escape route just moments before the bear charges. https://t.co/atFZGSY9dV pic.twitter.com/tQI8hozNLV

— KTLA (@KTLA) April 23, 2026

“’I was thinking this guy is crazy, and I hope nothing happens to him’, Erin Chiu, who recorded the video, told NBCLA. ‘I’m 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.”

Chiu reportedly hikes the same trail three times a week and had never seen a bear before.

“The hiker was eventually able to slowly back away as the bear moved toward him. Experts say the most important thing to remember if you encounter a bear is simple: do not run.”

Terrifying footage captured the moment a hiker came face-to-face with and was charged by a brown bear on a hiking trail in Sierra Madre.

Eric Chiu said he was walking the Mount Wilson Trail when he encountered a bear and tried to warn a nearby hiker about the bear, who then… pic.twitter.com/AcDHGwAamn

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) April 23, 2026

Read more:

After Another Fatal Attack in the Carpathian Mountains, Slovakia Set To Cull Hundreds of Bears Among Soaring ‘Overprotected’ Populations

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