THEY are notoriously one of the most dangerous animals in the world.

    But this man appeared to put his fears behind him as he got up close and personal with a grizzly bear.

    Embracing the huge animal in his arms, the Russian man called Jim was caught on camera cuddling the bear called Jimbo and stroking its face — seemingly unaware that it could retaliate at any minute.

    Jim, dressed in a grey jumper and jeans — which were left covered in mud by the giant animal — was sat on a large tree trunk in what appeared to be an animal enclosure as he stroked the grizzly.

    Incredible video footage shows the bear leaning onto him as he puts his hand in its mouth — perhaps to stop it biting him.

    The bear, with one paw on the man’s shoulder, nuzzles at his chest and tries to lick his face as he laughs uncontrollably in amusement.

    He then manages to get out from underneath the bear’s grasp, and moves around to stroke its back. Rubbing its fur up and down, Jim scratches the brown bear’s back — in a sight rarely seen before.

    The bear, clearly enjoying the attention, throws its head up in the air in delight as it stretches its paws out onto the tree trunk.

    At one point, the camera pans around to show its fearsome paws — complete with inch-long nails.

    It is not known where in Russia the daring footage was taken, but it gives a fascinating insight into the behavior of grizzly bears.

    It also shows the huge size they can grown to, with the man dwarfed by the massive animal.

    The video was posted on Facebook by the Orphaned Wildlife Center, a nonprofit organization that helps to look after orphaned animals.

    A post on the Facebook page tells how Jimbo was brought to the center as a cub, and is now 21 years old.

    Because he was born into captivity he has no skills to look after himself and so can’t be released back into the wild.(SD-Agencies)