A PHOTOGRAPHER who was heading home from a weekend of camping was stunned when he waved goodbye to a bear — and it waved back.

    The bear was on the grass and lifted his paw to say goodbye — waving goodbye as Dylan Furst passed him in a car.

    Furst, 25, had spent the weekend camping at a national park that is also home to bears.

    As he was leaving, the Jeep Patriot SUV he was traveling in passed by the large kodiak bear so Dylan said “goodbye bear” and waved at it.

    But Dylan was stunned when the bear, who was sitting just 10 feet (3 meters) away, raised his paw and waved back at him.

    Furst captured this moment at Olympic National Park in Washington state, the U.S.

    The photographer, from Bellingham in Washington, said the bear was not threatening and was happy to interact with a human.

    He said, “I went to Olympic National Park to see the bears and to enjoy a weekend of camping.

    “When I was leaving I said ‘goodbye bear!’ and waved at it, then he waved back. I couldn’t believe it. I was no more than 10 feet away from the bear, separated by a small wire fence.”

    (SD-Agencies)