He might just be a cub, but this playful grizzly clearly shows he has some bite after taking a painful swipe at his mother’s nose.

The plucky youngster was captured with his family group in the wild of Katmai National Park on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

The park is located in the Valley of Ten Thousands Smokes, and is home to the unique sub-species of Kodiak bears which can grow up to 900lbs on a diet of abundant salmon.

Dats my dose: the Kodiak bear cub grabs his mother’s nose with his sharp claws as they play in Katmai National Park, Alaska

Another of the images shows an adult bear clearly with things on his mind as he rests his chin on the palm of one of his massive paws.

The images were captured by grandmother Judy Lynn Malloch, 66, from Boynton Beach, Florida, who made the 5,000-mile trip and risked her own safety to get within yards of the animals.

She said: ‘It is a privilege above all else to see these majestic creatures in their natural habitat living their lives in such a carefree way.

‘The grasslands are totally open and you may see anywhere from twenty to thirty grizzlies at one time.

‘The babies are very playful but sometimes too playful – and the mother would scold them and quite sternly too as the babies would cower and get down low.’

Bear necessities: an adult male ponders his next move in grasslands on the unique Kodiak Island, home to around 3,000 of the bear sub-species

Do you think he saw us? This cub is clearly alert as he spots the camera snapping away at his family group

Mrs Malloch’s father was a vet and she grew up with animals as a child.

She got up at 5.30am every day to travel by skiff to Hollow Bay where the bears live and hunt for food.

She added: ‘To watch them play with their babies and nurse them is just the best.

‘They are very loving and protective parents and also great teachers as they teach their young to clam and to survive in the wild.

‘They really are not too interested in man as long as you did not get to close to them or to their young.’

Best paw forward: Two cubs play in the mud flats on Kodiak Island. the area has abundant salmon stocks and adult Kodiak bears can reach 900lbs

Kodiak bears on live in Katmai National Park and are not hunted by humans.

It is estimated that around 3,000 of the bears live on the 170-mile long island.

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