Bear crashes jogger's trail run through Great Smokies: Watch video

A curious young bear joined in on a jogger's run in North Carolina, leaving the man both excited and scared.

A man in North Carolina was joined by an unexpected companion as he went for a run in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Kallup McCoy II, a coach and athlete, according to his Instagram, was running his usual nine-mile route from Bryson City, located about 180 miles west of Charlotte, up into the national park when he heard there was a bear nearby.

“I was about to turn around and head back to Bryson City when some hikers told me a bear was up the trail, so I went to see if I could get a pic of it,” McCoy told Storyful.

Video footage shows the young bear, assumed to be a yearling, running alongside McCoy and darting toward him as the runner attempts to scare him away using water and sticks. However, the bear refused to leave McCoy alone and kept trailing him, with the runner calling for help.

“I'm trying to freaking get away from this bear, and it would not leave me alone,” McCoy can be heard saying in the video. “Talk about messing up my run.”

While the bear was not very big, McCoy said it was "definitely big enough to freak me out a little bit."

Watch: Bear trails runner during his run at Smoky Mountains National Park

While McCoy did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for more information, he could be heard telling an officer about the encounter in his Instagram video.

"I didn't even see him," McCoy says in the footage. "He just came flying out of the bushes. Just keeps charging at me, not aggressively."

McCoy added: "When I would try to walk away, he'd come running at my feet."

Bears in Great Smoky Mountains

As one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States where black bears can live in wild, natural surroundings, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to approximately 1,900 bears, according to National Park Service. These bears inhabit all elevations of the park and are most active during early morning and late evening hours in spring and summer.

What to do if you spot a bear

Bears are wild animals with unpredictable behaviors. Though attacks on humans are rare, they have occurred in the past, and NPS recommends exercising extreme caution when dealing with these wild animals.

If you see a bear:

Remain watchful.
Do not approach it or allow it to approach you.
If the bear is sitting at a distance, feeding or walking by and notices you but continues its natural behavior, do not take any action.
If your presence causes the bear to change its behavior (stops feeding, changes its travel direction or watches you) you are too close.
If a bear expresses aggressive behavior such as running toward you, making loud noises or swatting the ground, it is demanding more space. In that case, don't run, but slowly back away, watching the bear and increasing your distance. The bear is likely to do the same.

If a bear persistently follows or approaches you, without vocalizing or paw swatting, the NPS recommends the following:

Change your direction.
If the bear continues to follow you, stand your ground.
If the bear gets closer, talk loudly or shout.
Act aggressively to intimidate the bear.
Act together as a group if you have companions. Make yourselves look as large as possible.
Throw non-food objects such as rocks at the bear.
Use a deterrent such as a stout stick.
If you are carrying bear spray, begin to discharge it when the bear comes within 20 yards of you.
Don't run and don't turn away from the bear.
Don't leave food for the bear; this encourages further problems.
Don't discharge a firearm; this can cause a safety hazard for other visitors.