WATCH: Grizzly Bear Charges At Yellowstone National Park Ranger

A viral video shared last week shows a grizzly bear charging at a Yellowstone National Park ranger.

The incident took place last Friday (May 28) after a park ranger arrived at a bear jam between Norris junction and Swan Lake Flat, Yellowstone officials confirmed in a statement obtained by KBZK.

Several other people were out of their vehicles and within 20 yards of a pair of grizzly bears, with some coming too close to the bears in order to take photos and blocking them from crossing the road at the time of the incident, according to the statement.

In the video, the ranger attempts to divert traffic and get people out of the area before the male grizzly charges in his direction for several yards before stopping.

The ranger immediately retreated to his truck and grabbed a gun containing bean bag rounds, rubber bullets and cracker shells to haze the bear back into the forest, park officials confirmed.

Yellowstone National Park is reminding all visitors to remain at least 100 yards away from bears, and those stopping to watch a roadside bear are responsible for not behaving in ways that put themselves, others and the bears at risk.

“We’ve already seen numerous close calls with bears this year and had one visitor seriously injured last week,” said Superintendent Cam Sholly via KBZK. “Visitors need to maintain appropriate distances to wildlife and understand these animals are wild and can kill or injure humans very easily if threatened. The resource management bear technician in the video did an excellent job of hazing the aggressive bear away from visitors who obviously had no clue what kind of danger they were in. His actions likely saved lives. Non-lethal bean bags and rubber bullets were used in this situation and are some of the tools we use to haze wildlife away from visitors.”

Park officials said hazing bears away from developed areas and roads helps keep both visitors and bears safe while also limiting traffic congestion.

Photo: Getty Images