Yahoo TV

A family hike in Italy’s Brenta Dolomites turned dramatic on May 24, when a large brown bear appeared near 12-year-old Alessandro Breda. But as a nail-biting video from the scene shows, the youngster showed remarkable poise as he slowly retreated.

Alessandro was picking his way down a trail when the bear appeared, and video by his mother’s partner Loris Calliari shows how close the animal was to him.

Despite the bear rearing up on its hind legs, Alessandro remains calm and continues back towards his family.

Alessandro told Italian broadcaster RAI that he’d recently watched an instructional video about what to do if encountering a bear. “I learned that if you yell, the bear becomes agitated and becomes much more aggressive,” he said. Credit: Loris Calliari via Storyful