‘Help me’: fans watching bear camera help save Alaska hiker’s life

Wildlife enthusiasts watching live feed from remote national park spot hiker in distress and alert authorities to rescue him

They logged on hoping to see brown bears gorging on salmon, fattening themselves up for their winter hibernation. Instead, what the wildlife enthusiasts viewing one of Alaska's most remote national park webcams saw was a disheveled and weather-beaten hiker shuffling into view, mouthing the words help me" into the lens.

The episode captured by a camera at the Katmai national park sparked a chain of events that ended with the safe recovery of the unknown hiker by search and rescue teams, according to rangers.