A family who lost their dog and resorted to using a drone to locate him were stunned to find him playing with a family of bears in the woods.
Footage captured of the heart-warming moment in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula shows the playful husky nudging a big bear in an apparent introduction.
The stocky animal then sniffs the pooch and gently prods it with its paw to check for a response.
In the middle of a forest, the two furry creatures can be seen standing side by side before the husky jumps away into the woods.
The footage then cuts to show the pup bouncing between three other bears, as the family slowly stalk through the greenery.
The husky could be seen in drone footage making an introduction to a big brown bear in a Russian forest
Before long the pooch joins the trio of bears and the furry group of four continue their journey through the greenery
The dog, full of life, skips in and out of the bears' path as he playfully disrupts the family's walk, occasionally frocking with the cub.
And although the group is technically a pack of predators, they seem unfazed by the excited mutt.
The drone hovers further overhead, giving viewers an adorable shot of the husky bounding ahead of two bears before cheekily turning back to see if they would play.
The two smaller bears seem to enjoy the dog's enthusiasm and begin hopping along the path alongside the pup.
The touching moment then turns into a game of chase as the husky stops in its tracks to run after his new fluffy friends.
Now a group of four, the squad continues their journey through the grassy opening as the dog sprints beside the pack.
The family had reportedly lost their pet pooch while enjoying a stroll in the woods, but were shocked to see what he had been up to in his short time away.
The footage has racked up over a staggering 27million views and 12,000 comments on Instagram.
Social media users and dog-lovers were quick to leave their thoughts on the cute clip.
One said: ‘The one bear shoved him like ‘go the hell home dude'.'
Another commented: ‘That one bear looked up at the drone at the end like ‘come get your dog please'.'
‘That's a Pixar movie right there!' added a third.
Another quipped: ‘This proves that if humans disappeared today, other animals would keep our dogs as pets.'
A fifth chimed in: ‘Freakin huskies. We adopted one after it was running with a pack of coyotes for six months but then got bored.' [sic]
One more added: ‘These are Kamchatka Russian bears not grizzlies, although they are in the same family of brown bear.
‘Kamchatka bears are much bigger than grizzlies, that's why they look so plump to North Americans.'
The footage came as a surprise to viewers as dogs and bears are not known to be best friends, according to BearVault.
‘From squabbles over carrion in the wild to territorial disputes in backyards, they've never been known to get along,' claimed experts.
‘It's no surprise, then, that bringing a canine into a bear's home comes with a certain amount of inherent risk for encounters between bears and dogs'.
A study by the University of Wisconsin in 2019 found there was evidence that ‘dogs can trigger defensive attacks by black bears.'
This is why when walking through forest areas with a pet pooch, experts advise they should be kept on a leash.
