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A wildlife photographer was shocked during a recent up-close encounter with a grizzly bear in the woods.
Nate Luebbe was camping in Katmai National Park in the northern Alaska Peninsula with a friend named Cody when the unthinkable happened.
Luebbe, 36, was near his campsite in Brooks Falls when he came in close contact with a grizzly bear that was looking for food, SWNS reported.
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The area is known for its waterfall, where bears arrive in search of fish — but Luebbe was not expecting to come into such close contact with a wild animal here. (SEE the video at the top of this article.)
“When I saw it, it was 50 meters away right by the campground,” he said about the bear, as SWNS noted.
Two men who were camping near a waterfall spotted this young bear on the move in Katmai National Park. (SWNS)
The resident of Salt Lake City, Utah, said he had just left his campsite tent to take some nature photographs when he spotted the bear.
While the bear was large, he said he knew it was a bit smaller than others that are typically seen in Katmai National Park.
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“The bear was an adolescent, so it was a bit smaller,” he told SWNS.
Regardless, Luebbe said he could not believe the bear “the size of a car” was right in front of him.
Nate Luebbe said he was shocked to be this close to a bear in the wild. (SWNS)
“It was right there [and] it felt like I could have touched it,” he said.
After realizing there was a large animal in front of him, Luebbe said he tried his best not to appear as a threat to the animal.
“I was yielding the trail, letting it know it was the alpha,” he said.
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He added, “I was feeling a mix of fear — cool, collected and nervous — trying not to remember that it’s an animal the size of a car with knives on its hands.”
Luebbe told SWNS that the bear eventually went on its way, and he was able to continue his camping trip in peace.
Looking back, the wildlife photographer said he will remember the moment as “beautiful.”
The bear eventually went on its way along the path. “Once you confirm it’s not a life-threatening situation, it’s beautiful to see an animal like that in its habitat,” said Luebbe. (SWNS)
“Once you confirm it’s not a life-threatening situation, it’s beautiful to see an animal like that in its habitat,” he said.
Katmai was established in 1918 to protect the “volcanically devastated region” surrounding Novarupta and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, according to the National Park Service.
Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve “also protects 9,000 years of human history and [is an] important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears,” the NPS also notes on its website.
Fox News Digital reached out to the wildlife photographer and videographer — who shares his work on his X account, @nateinthewild — for further updates.
On his website, nateluebbe.com, he encourages others to “get outside, see the beautiful planet we all live on, and experience moments of your own.”
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.
Brittany Kasko is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital.
