Bear chases oblivious Sydney snowboarder in Japan - or does it?
A Sydney snowboarder has uploaded a video that she claims shows a bear chasing after her as she cruised obliviously down a slope in Japan.
Kelly Murphy, 19, said she uncovered the bizarre situation when she reviewed a video she had filmed of herself skiing at the Japanese resort Hakuba 47 in Nagano Prefecture over the weekend.
"I nearly got eaten," she posted alongside the video on YouTube.
The video shows her strapping up her boots and taking off down a slope with headphones one, as she sings Rihanna’s hit song Work.
Seconds later a large bear appears in the left-hand corner of the footage, seemingly chasing her down the hill.
A pounding sound and the apparent groans and roars of the bear can be heard as it gives chase, before the totally unaware Ms Murphy picks up speed and leaves the animal far in her wake.
Social media users were immediately denouncing the video as a fake.
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“lol At [sic] anyone who thinks this is real,” YouTube user Freddy Hernandez said.
In a more sarcastic approach, Vanguard 14 commented: “I had the same thing happen to me not too long ago in Norway. Me and the polar bear ended up wrestling each other, but we went home to our respective families at the end. It was a fun day.”
There have been several attacks by Asiatic black bears in Nagano Prefecture in recent years.
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