Watch: Man escapes charging polar bear by jumping on snowmobile

Man narrowly escapes on snowmobile after polar bear charges him

A man chose to drop his gun and try to outrun a charging polar bear on a snowmobile in the Arctic town of Pyramiden on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in late April. (Credit: A man chose to drop his gun and try to outrun a charging polar bear on a snowmobile in the Arctic town of Pyramiden on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in late April.)

Heart-stopping video shows a man drop his gun and then narrowly outrun a polar bear in Norway. 

Close call

While at a hotel in Svalbard for a ski expedition last month, Rebecca Baack captured video from her balcony of a man who appeared to attempt to scare away a polar bear by shooting a gun.

The bear, undeterred, began to advance toward the man, who promptly dropped his gun and hopped on a nearby snowmobile, narrowly escaping the bear.

What they're saying:

"I was woken up around midnight with someone saying there was a bear. A staff member was trying to scare it away when the bear charged him," Baack said.

The bear gave chase for a moment before giving up and sitting down.

FILE - Freeze frame of video showing man escaping from polar bear in Norway in late April. (Credit: Rebecca Baack via Storyful)

According to Visit Svalbard, a tourism agency, polar bears are known to populate the region, and while they spend most of their lives at sea, visitors to Svalbard should be prepared to encounter the animal anywhere.

The agency warned polar bears attack "quickly, without warning," and advised tourists to be accompanied by a local guide with a firearm when leaving settlements.