Yellowstone tourists during close grizzly bear encounter.

On Tuesday, as several tourists in Yellowstone National Park hiked toward the overlook at Grand Prismatic Spring, they paused to watch a grizzly bear forage alongside the trail.

A surprise sighting, for sure, occurring as uncertainty swirled about whether Yellowstone would remain open the following day, with a government shutdown appearing likely. (A shutdown is in effect and the park, for the time being, is open with limitations.)

But footage of the grizzly bear encounter, captured by guide and photographer Trent Sizemore, revealed that many of these tourists did not attempt to maintain a safe distance from the bear and, in fact, some left the path to get closer.

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“This grizzly bear came right down the trail to Grand Prismatic Overlook in Yellowstone this afternoon,” Sizemore described via Instagram. “Reminder to carry bear spray no matter how short the trail is, or how many people you think there might be!”

Sizemore told FTW Outdoors that the bear was not as close to the people as it seems in his footage, but they were well within the 100-yard distance guideline mandated by the park.

Thankfully, the bear, perhaps on the younger side, paid no attention to the encroachment and focused entirely on feeding.

The sighting shows that bears in Yellowstone can appear anywhere, including crowded thermal features where sightings are less common.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: In Yellowstone, a truly ‘grand’ (but dangerous) grizzly bear encounter

Reporting by Pete Thomas, For The Win / For The Win

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