Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A California family out for a hike in the woods recorded video of their tense encounter with a territorial black bear that charged toward them.
Tigran Avakian said he was hiking the Monrovia Falls Trail with his wife, Zarina, and other family members including his 4-year-old daughter when he and his wife lagged behind the group to take video of a bear they spotted nearby.
The video shows the moment the bear charged at Avakian and his wife.
"It was going full speed at me," he told KABC-TV, "All the way until 5-6 feet away from me at which point it made a sharp turn left and went up the slope. And that's when I started to breathe again."
Avakian and his wife rejoined the rest of the group, but they soon discovered the bear had followed them at a distance and had them cornered.
The adults waved their arms and made noise at the bear until it moved far enough off the trail to allow them to pass.
"We ever so cautiously walked around it and off we went -- straight to the car," he said.
Avakian posted the video to Instagram with some advice for anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation: "When the bear charges, always stand your ground! Change pants later."
