The outside world is something that we’re all craving during the lockdown, which accounts for the immense joy that will inevitably be shared by all South Africans when we’re allowed to venture out of the house for exercise, at all hours of the day, from June 1.

For anyone who starts work smack bang in the middle of the current limiting hours, this is a welcome easing of restrictions.

Read more about what will be permitted under alert level 3 here.

In northern Italy, where the coronavirus is finally largely under control, a family decided to venture out for a hike on May 24.

12-year-old Alessandro Franzoi ran ahead, only to be met with an unwelcome surprise in the bushes.

Per Global News:

…the child stumbled upon the bear, according to local reports. The animal was a Marsican brown bear, which can weigh up to 220 kilograms (485 pounds).

The boy […] turned around and started carefully and calmly retracing his steps. That’s when he told his mother to “make the video,” according to Italy’s Ladige newspaper.

Fair play to the kid, because nobody is that calm when confronted by a bear.

Watch his mom’s video below, and the man coaching him through it is his stepfather, Loris Calliari;

Get that kid a child-friendly equivalent of a Bell’s.

Calliari posted the video online after the incident. In an interview, he said that the hiking party was comprised of six people.

“I noticed that he was moving and I told [Alessandro] to walk slowly, to be careful, that I will take a picture but to move,” Calliari said.

He added that he was nervous at first, “but then saw that the bear was not scared, was not acting, So I calmed down.”

He says the family had recently watched a video about bear encounters, so Alessandro was “prepared” to handle it.

Bears really have no interest in attacking people, but I’m not sure your average 12-year-old would have handled the encounter so well.

Still, I can’t wait for the day when we can once again hike.

[source:globalnews]