(UPI) An incredulous visitor to an Ontario park captured video of more than a dozen people standing dangerously close to a bear while snapping photos.

Philip de Roo posted a video last week to YouTube showing the scene he was confronted with last week while driving through Algonquin Park with his family.

The video shows about 15 people gathered at the side of the road to watch and snap photos of a black bear standing only a few feet away.

"I saw there was a black bear sitting about 15 feet away at max," de Roo told Global News. I was shocked. My mind was blown. I wondered why anyone would want to do that and be that close to an animal out in the open like that, it's so dangerous.

De Roo said he posted the video, taken from the safety of his car, as a warning to others.

"I wanted to basically explain to my kids and say this is not something that you do. If you see a black bear, don't go running towards it with a camera," de Roo said.

Bill Dowd, president of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, agreed with de Roo's assessment.

"When bears or any animals get accustomed to humans, they start identifying us a food source," Dowd said. Bears can travel 50 feet in one second ... They can run almost twice as fast as we can. In a split second that could have been very dangerous.

"People are always looking for that perfect selfie whether it's the edge of a water cliff or a standing beside a black bear. Don't put your life in danger to be close to a wild animal," he said. The more space you can keep between you and a wild animal, the better.

Copyright 2017 by United Press International