Alaska Turbine Otter Tour Video Goes Viral Thanks to Co-Star

Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 05:14 PM ET

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Cara Siciliano and her husband Gerry Buchheit (third and fourth, respectively from left) got a little more then they bargained for when they took this de Havilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter from Homer, Alaska, to Katmai National Park. Courtesy Cara Siciliano

Key Takeaways:

Cara Siciliano's TikTok video, documenting a close encounter with a 1,400-pound brown bear named "Bear 747" during an Alaskan floatplane tour, unexpectedly went viral with over 20 million views.
The tour pilot, Patrick Carter, a trained bear guide, asserted that such close encounters are common and not dangerous, crediting his bear orientation for tourists and calm demeanor (including softly speaking to the bear) for safe interactions.
The featured bear, "Bear 747," was already famous for winning "Big Bear Week" as the "fattest bear in Alaska" prior to its viral moment.

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Cara Siciliano didn’t have TikTok on her phone until just before she went on a floatplane tour—in a de Havilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter—from Homer, Alaska, to Brooks Camp at Katmai National Park in King Salmon about three weeks ago.

“I only had Facebook and Instagram,” she said. “My friends kept sending me these videos and I couldn’t watch them because I didn’t want to get TikTok on my phone.”

Alaska Turbine Otter Tour Video Goes Viral Thanks to Co-Star

Key Takeaways:

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