A grazing grizzly bear got within mere inches of a wildlife photographer who says that despite the proximity, he was never scared.
Matt Addington was in Katmai National Park in Alaska on a guided tour when the bears he was photographing ended up wandering very close to him as they munched on grass.
“Contrary to what the millions and millions of people who have chimed in on this think, it honestly was one of the most surreal and peaceful encounters that I’ve ever had,” Addington tells Fox News.
Addington’s viral Instagram video (above), posted on July 10, has been viewed nearly 40 million times. Despite people joking that, “I like eating my salad before steak as well,” he says he never felt fearful or anxious.
“This was the complete opposite. It was, again, one of the more peaceful, serene, surreal moments that I’ve ever had,” the photographer says.
Addington explains that initially the bears were roughly 150 yards away from him. But as the sow kept grazing, she and her cubs just naturally drifted toward Addington’s group, untroubled by the human presence.
The photographer reckons the bears got within two feet of him and his camera as he lay on the ground, leaning against his backpack.
“We didn’t go marching or barging in and say, ‘We’re going to get as close as we can to this bear,’” Addington says. “Everything that we do as photographers — and Scott and Jackie would say this 1000 times over — is to stay back enough that you let bears be bears.”
Scott and Jackie Stone were Addington’s guides in Katmai, an unusual location where, thanks to abundant food and restricted visitor access, people can get close to bears without as much risk as other areas, like Yellowstone. Needless to say, it is never advisable to get too close to a grizzly bear.
Katmai is home to 2,000 brown bears and at this time of year, they are eating up to 120 lbs of grass a day to prepare for winter hibernation.
