Giant brown bear casually joins photographer on photo shoot after a nap

A photographer captured the moment a gigantic brown bear turned up to his nature shoot and sat down next to him.

Drew Hamilton had set out to capture life on the McNeil River on the Alaskan Peninsula when the bear decided to join him, having just woken up from a nap.

The bear sat down beside Hamilton's chair and watched the other bears playing down river, before sloping off to the water's edge to join his friends for a spot of fishing.

Alaskan Peninsula brown bears are the second largest type of brown bear in the world and usually weigh between 800 to 1,200lbs (360 to 540kg). A large male may stand up to three metres tall on its hind legs.

The bears eat a variety of foods, including salmon, grasses and berries, but are capable of hunting moose and caribou.

Although they are solitary animals, they gather in groups at feeding sites, such as the McNeil River where there are large quantities of salmon.

Brown bears are hunted in Alaska for their skulls and hides and around 500 are killed every year. Bear hunting seasons is held in spring and autumn, but it is illegal to kill cubs and females with offspring.