A family was hiking in the mountains near Sporminore in Northern Italy when they encountered a curious brown bear. The bear began to stalk 12-year-old Alessandro Franzoi, who was gathering pine cones in the bushes while his family was preparing for a picnic. His stepfather recorded as the boy slowly and calmly walked away from the bear.

The bear continued to follow Franzoi, who kept looking back to see where the wild animal was. The boy's stepfather, Loris Calliari, noticed that the bear did not appear agitated and told the boy to keep walking towards him.

"Keep coming, Ale, don't turn your back on him," he said, according to the New York Post. "He's just minding his own business."

Alessandro didn't seem too fazed by the close encounter, at one point saying, "This is so cool." As the bear continued to follow Alessandro, his mother can be heard screaming in the background. Alessandro stopped moving and motioned for his mother to be quiet so she wouldn't startle the wild animal.

Eventually, the bear left the family alone and retreated back into the trees. Despite the close encounter with the bear, all Alessandro wanted to know was if his stepdad snapped a picture.

"It was the best day of my life," Alessandro told the La Stampa newspaper. "I really hoped something like that would happen. When I saw the bear pop up from the bushes, I was really excited. I knew I must not surprise the bear and that I just had to move away from it."

Photo: YouTube

About Simon Conway

WOC 1420 · The Quad Cities Place To Talk