Well to be honest, I've had several animals including black bear, deer and fox get very close to me. And likely would have got closer had I not done something the alert them to my presence. Let's face it. They are wild animals and you really don't know how they will react to you. I've waved my hand so deer wouldn't get any closer and spoke softly to a couple bear that got too close for comfort. To get within touching distance is IMO not very wise.