A brazen bear trying to steal food was chased up a tree twice by a wolf pack defending their kill.

Elie Wolf was in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US, on June 7 watching a group of wolves around a carcass when a lone bear appeared behind them.

Dramatic footage shows the bear charged at one wolf before the numbers game caught up with it and the rest of the pack chased it back up the hill and into a nearby tree.

The bear escaped the first tree but the wolves continued their pursuit leaving the chastened animal to seek safety in another tree, this time climbing higher up.

Elie, from Orlando, Florida, US, said: “Although I've wolf watched in the Lamar Valley previously, I have never witnessed anything like that before.

“I was in awe and completely mesmerised. And I kept thinking how fortunate I was to be in the right place at the right time.

“Typically, wolf and bear watchers rise early and go to places where sightings are common.

“I believe this was a black bear, which are often mistaken for grizzlies. Grizzlies have a shoulder hump that is quite prominent but this didn’t seem to have one.

“The whole encounter between the two sets of animals lasted around 10 to 15 minutes.

“We watched the wolves for hours that morning due to the activity surrounding the carcass in the little ravine.”

A brazen bear trying to steal food was chased up a tree twice by a wolf pack defending their kill.

Elie Wolf was in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, on June 7 watching a group of wolves around a carcass when a lone bear appeared behind them.

Dramatic footage shows the bear charged at one wolf before the numbers game caught up with it and the rest of the pack chased it back up the hill and into a nearby tree.

The bear escaped the first tree but the wolves continued their pursuit leaving the chastened animal to seek safety in another tree, this time climbing higher up.

Elie, from Orlando, Florida, USA, said: “Although I've wolf watched in the Lamar Valley previously, I have never witnessed anything like that before.

“I was in awe and completely mesmerised. And I kept thinking how fortunate I was to be in the right place at the right time.

“Typically, wolf and bear watchers rise early and go to places where sightings are common.

“I believe this was a black bear, which are often mistaken for grizzlies. Grizzlies have a shoulder hump that is quite prominent but this didn’t seem to have one.

“The whole encounter between the two sets of animals lasted around 10 to 15 minutes.

“We watched the wolves for hours that morning due to the activity surrounding the carcass in the little ravine.”