A hair-raising video shows the moment a 12-year-old boy had a close encounter with a brown bear and dealt with the situation perfectly:
The youngster was hiking with his family in the Sporminore municipality in Trentino, Italy, when he came across the wild animal.
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In the terrifying clip, the boy manages to remain calm as his mum and her boyfriend tell him not to panic. He nervously walks down the hill as the animal stands metres behind him.
He's told 'Come Ale', by his mum's partner who is believed to be filming the terrifying moment, as per La Voce del Trentino. Following the instructions, the boy walks towards his family, making as little movement as possible.
As the boy turns to check on the bear, it stands on its hind legs and the boy calls for his mum before the animal turns its attention to a nearby bush.
The video was posted on to Twitter and people have praised the boy for his bravery. One wrote: "Of course seeing it for the first time and so big maybe I would still be running .. congratulations for the calm."
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Another added: "Really congratulations to Alessandro and to you for the calm. I fear that 'normal', therefore instinctive, behavior would have compromised everything."
A third commented: "Seeing him in the wild makes an impression! Congratulations to the little one for the courage."
Luckily, for this family, bears don't hunt and attack humans under normal circumstances. Although this certainly wouldn't stop the majority of people from freaking out.
Frightening animal encounters like this don't just happen on land either. Last year scientists found themselves face-to-face with a 16-foot shark which they described as being 'like seeing a t-rex in water'.
The team - led by Florida State University - were actually down there in a submersible with the express purpose of encountering and tagging a bluntnose sixgill shark.
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Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said it was 'probably the most magical experience I've ever had'.
He said: "We were in pitch darkness in this globe. I was completely transfixed by being underwater in this other world. The hair on the back of my arms was standing up. It was like seeing a T-Rex in the water."
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@loriscalliariTopics: Community, Animals, Bear