
Now that's a bear hug!

The adorable moment a mother bear races up to her cub to give it a loving embrace was captured in an incredible series of images, taken by Canadian nature photographer Marc Latremouille.

In slow motion the brown bear - which weighs around 400 pounds - is pictured running towards its fearless baby, as it stands ready and waiting to meet its mum.

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The mother bear charges towards her cub at high speed. The two had become separated when the younger had gone to chase gulls in the water

As the mother beer approaches, splashing water as she goes, her adventurous baby stands firm waiting to meet her

Mother and baby meet, in a loving moment captured in a series of extraordinary images by Canadian photographer Marc Latremouille

The baby bear is nearly lifted off the ground by the strength of the hug as mother and cub come together in the Lake Clark National Park in Alaska

I'll race you! Two baby brown bears play in the water of the Lake Clark National Park. Rangers there have recorded 219 bears living in a 50-mile radius, making the area one of biggest homes to brown bears in the world

The heart-warming pictures are part of a series of photographs taken when Marc, 47, travelled to the Lake Clark National Park, based in Alaska.

The others show a pair of cute cubs play-fighting, racing together and hunting for clams at the salt marshes. They later sit in the grasslands to relax.

Marc explained how he took the incredible sequence of pictures of a mother bear charging at its young.

Watch where you're going! The baby brown cub's claws covers its mother's eyes, as it's nearly knocked off its feet by the 400-pound bear

Close-up: The cub snuggles into its mother for protection in a loving bear hug. Photographer Marc Latremouille said being so close to the creatures was 'nerve-racking' but enjoyable... once he realised they didn't want to eat him

Two bears run through the water at the national park in Alaska, described on its website as a 'land of stunning beauty'

'I was photographing mother bear and two spring cubs digging for razor clams in the mud flats,' he said.

'As we all know, little ones are always curious and playful, and this particular cub decided it was playtime and started chasing gulls for fun.

'Moments later, the mother realised that one of her cub was way too far from her.

The mother bear guides her two young cubs and keeps them close to her side. Photographer Marc Latremouille, who shot the images, said they had been digging for clams in the mud

'She ran straight towards him and as you can see from the cub's expression - he knew he was in trouble.

'She quickly led him back to his sibling and continued digging for clams.'

Around 95 per cent of America's brown bear population make their home in the northern state of Alaska.

Two brown bear clubs sit close together as they relax in the grasslands

Lake Clark National Park has recorded 219 bears in a 50-mile radius, meaning this area has one of the highest brown bear population density in the world.

'These bears are some of the biggest bears on the planet,' said Marc.

'Being close to one for the first time, without a fence between each other, is nerve-racking.

'But you soon realise, in this particular area, you are not on the menu.

'They have plenty of food available to them and don't see us as a threat.'

A young brown bear explores his surroundings in grasslands at the Lake Clark National Park. The bears are one of 37 different types of mammals who live in the area