A surprising guest turned up while Matthew Garrity was kayaking on Hemlock Lake south of Rochester, New York.
A black bear was swimming by, making its way across the lake, and Garrity caught some of it on video.
Garrity told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle he was relaxing on the lake when he saw something swimming. He couldn't make out what it was, so he paddled out to investigate.
"I heard it breathing," Garrity said. "I realized what it was as soon as I heard this big gasping, grunting sound of it breathing.
"I just tried to get my kayak drifting at the same speed," Garrity said. "I put my paddle down, got my camera out and started taking the video just enough to see the front of my kayak aim towards the front of the bear. I realized I better back up."
Garrity put his camera down, picked up his oars, and gave the bear some space.
"I got a little nervous, so the video is pretty short because as soon as I saw the front of my kayak come into focus I said OK, that's enough," Garrity told WHAM.
But the 14-second video, uploaded to Facebook Saturday, caught enough of the moment and has over 280,000 views.
Watch the video below:
