Snowboarder appears to be chased down slope by bear (video)

When it comes to life-threatening experiences on the ski slopes, there are a few ways you could put yourself in danger -but this snowboarder in Japan found herself in a rather unusual situation.

Kelly Murphy filmed herself gliding down the mountain and was apparently totally unaware that a bear was chasing her down the hill.

See also: Alternative places to ski

See also: Airbag saves female snowboarder in avalanche

The footage shows the girl going down the slope on her snowboard with the bear appearing in the background behind her every so often.

However, plenty of people have been quick to question whether the footage is actually real.

The bear only appears intermittently and although the snowboarder seems to be travelling at quite a pace, it seems unlikely the animal would be unable to catch her.

But Kelly has been quick to defend herself. She told The Independent: "Yes the video is real! I didn't know anything was happening at the time but it's so scary to watch it back now! I think I'll stick to the runs with my friends from now on lol."

Simon Hain called the footage into question on Twitter saying: "@RichardWiseman Looks quite fake though. She stopped not very far, the bear would have gotten her easily."

Meanwhile Jackfarlane questioned the bear's appearance: "@GeneralDeluxe For a start, pretty sure you don't get bears of that size in Japan."

Although bears may not be the first thing people associate with Japan they definitely have a presence in the country - both Asiatic black bears and brown bears are native.