It all started as an innocent attempt to find clams , but left a small fox in a tense standoff with a 500lb brown bear . As the two animals faced one another on the tidal flats of the Katmai National Park in southern Alaska , it seemed there would only be one inevitable ending . But miraculously after running round in circles chased by the bear , the red fox was left to return to its search in peace as it appeared the Alaskan brown bear just wanted someone to play with . A red fox appeared to be facing an inevitable ending when it was locked in a stand off with an approaching bear . But it appeared the grizzly brown bear just wanted a playmate , and the fox and bear played a game of chase . American photographer Nate Zeman was photographing the fox when he saw the large bear approach from nearby woods and head straight for the animal - a fraction of its size . The 32-year-old , of Breckenridge , Colorado , said : 'The bear appeared from the forest , located about a mile away , and began to make a beeline straight towards us . 'The bear walked straight past me at a very close distance and kept going towards the fox , and began to chase it . 'The fox , however , easily outmanoeuvred the bear as it was chased in circles a couple of times , and when they stopped they both squared off about thirty feet apart . ' The agile fox managed to dodge the bear and neither animal seemed aggressive , not running at full speed . And despite the tense stand-off it soon became clear that the bear just wanted to play . The pair were seen running in circles , neither at full speed , with the agile fox deftly managing to stay out of harm 's way . 'Most likely the bear just wanted to chase the fox , and it 's as simple as that , ' added Mr Zeman . 'It was n't aggressive enough in its behaviour to be meaning to actually kill , it just really seemed to want a chase ! The fox had been calmly searching for clams on the tidal flats of the Katmai National Park in Alaska . But the red fox 's relative calm was soon disrupted when a grizzly brown bear made a direct beeline for it . The 500lb bear was seen to approach from a nearby forest and head straight for the fox that was clamming . Both animals faced eachother , and at first it appeared there would only be one outcome for the small fox . 'Soon after I took the photographs the fox walked off in the other direction and continued clamming , the bear lay there for a few moments before slowly getting up and sauntering away . ' The Alaskan brown bear is the name of any member of the grizzly bear family that lives in the coastal regions of southern Alaska . They are the second largest type of brown bear in the world , only after the giant bears of Kodiak Island . As the bear approached the fox began running and the game of chase between the pair began . The fox managed to dodge the bear and both were seen running in circles across the Alaskan salt flats . Photographer Nate Zeman said neither animal was aggressive and both seemed to be playing a game .
Nate Zeman was photographing a red fox searching for claims in Alaska . A large brown bear emerged from a forest and made a beeline for the fox . The two appeared to be locked in a stand-off but played a game of chase . Neither animal was at full speed and fox ran in circles to evade the bear . After a short time fox went back to its search and 500lb bear slunk off .