A mountain biker nearly became a black bear's lunch in Montana ... with the wild animal ferociously chasing the cyclist down a hill -- and the insane scene was caught on video!!
The tense moments all went down in Whitefish about a year ago (though the video was just released by Montana Knife Company this week) ... when a bike rider got the surprise of a lifetime as he barreled down a steep mountain path.
You can see in the footage ... as the guy pedaled his ride -- the black bear was in hot pursuit, trying to nab the dude on his way down the mountain!