Hikers and Grizzlies in Alaska

[mthorne]

I have to say I was somewhat disappointed with 'Grizzly Man'. If Werner's ambition in making the film was simply to portray Treadwell as insane then I guess it was a success. Sure, Treadwell may have been crazy, but I really think 'Grizzly Man' went way out of its way to try and make that point. Did we really need to see an endless string of him swearing at the Rangers. I really thought that scene would never end. What is most sad about this is that Treadwell had 100's of hours of the most incredible grizzly bear footage ever recorded. Really, that footage of the two bears fighting was astounding - especially on the big screen. Anyway, the film was about Treadwell not the grizzlies. I hope ultimately that Treadwell's legacy will be the amazing footage he captured, not just as a wacko who thought he was the only person in a fight to save them. I also think Treadwell was much more careful than portrayed in 'Grizzly Man'. I understand it was only in his last couple seasons he stopped carrying bear spray or setting up an electric fence around his campsite. But I would agree that going in the grizzly maze at all is definately crazy.

Whether he actually did any good while out there...

According to Treadwell's activist group - 'Grizzly People'

"... five bears were poached in the year after his death, while none had been poached while he was present in Katmai."

Well, that's interesting if true, I think that ultimately some real good can be done if his footage is made into some real documentaries about grizzlies.
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I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.

-John Constable (1776 - 1837)

[IGO]

I watched this film last night. Treadwell was certainly a hybrid self-absorbed dillusional sort but I'm sure he could be likeable and there's not much doubt that anybody who saw this film is either more Grizzly conscience or bear conscience in general.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[Desert-Boonie]

I finally got a chance to see this. Treadwell did indeed capture some of the most remarkable film on the grizzly. Can anyone really get down on a person for doing what they love? What he did was remarkable, but I also got the sense towards the end of the film that perhaps he let his gaurd down too much or underestimated the bears which finally led to his death. It was unfortanate, but inevitable as he also seemed to know as he said if he died that way it was what he wanted. The people who put this program together did a great job.
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~Never Satisfied~

"If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead"

[evenstar]

When dealing with bears, always have someone around you can out run
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John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902

[azhiker96]

I do wonder what science or good came from Treadwell spending time in the Grizzly Maze. Certainly he cared for the bears but I don't think he had a realistic view of grizzlies. He gave them human names and thought he was accepted into their society. I did find a couple of things tonight. Two bears were killed because it was thought they were responsible for the predatory kill of Treadwell and his girlfriend. Also, Outside Magazine printed a letter he sent to a friend shortly before his death. It's a look into his view of things. I post it here but you can find it online as well.
-George


Some Bet on My Death
In a stunning final letter, Timothy Treadwell speaks out on naysayers, fear, and what he believed was acceptance into the clan of the bear

THIS PAST SUMMER—his 13th in Alaska—Timothy Treadwell wrote frequent letters to family and friends, including Roland Dixon, a Bellevue, Colorado, rancher and conservation activist who was one of Treadwell's most steadfast financial supporters. In late July, Treadwell had arrived in the area he called the Grizzly Maze, the vast tangle of meadows and thickets stretching inland from Kaflia Bay. To his delight, the Maze's bears were faring well, particularly one he called Aunt Melissa, and her two cubs, Lilly and Dixon, the latter named in Roland Dixon's honor. As Treadwell wrote to Dixon on August 25, he believed he was experiencing a breakthrough: "I am in the most exciting and dangerous time of my...fieldwork. I am so deep within the brown bear culture. It is fascinating, beautiful, and at times treacherous." His last letter to Dixon—which Dixon has provided exclusively to Outside, hoping to give Treadwell a voice in the controversy over his death—was flown out on September 14 by a bush plane carrying supplies. It would be one of his final communications to the outside world.

EXPEDITION 2003
Timothy Treadwell
The Grizzly Maze, Alaska
Sunday, September 14, 2003

Roland...
Hello! I am writing you a last letter for the journey. My last food delivery is scheduled for late today.

My transformation complete—a fully accepted wild animal—brother to these bears. I run free among them—with absolute love and respect for all the animals. I am kind and viciously tough.

People—especially the bear experts of Alaska—believe this cannot be done. Some even bet on my death. They are sure you must have some sort of weapon for defense—pepper spray at the least, an electric fence a must. And you cannot hope to make it in a flimsy tent under thick cover among one of Earth's largest gatherings of giant brown grizzly bears.

People who knowingly enter bear habitat with pepper spray, guns, and electric fences are committing a crime to the animals. They begin with the accepted idea of bringing instruments of pain to the animals. If they are that fearful, then they have no place in the land of this perfect animal.

Could I look at Dixon, Lilly, and their mother, Melissa, and tell them that I love them, that I will care for them, with a can of mace in my pocket? Does the fox or vole get zapped by the wicked sting of an electric fence for being curious?

This wilderness—the Grizzly Maze—had big problems not too many years ago. People who came to kill the animals. I was threatened with death. One group promising to stuff me alive in a crab pot and submerge it in the icy sea.

They are gone now. The Maze returned to the animals.

You made this possible. I am a miserable fundraiser. Without you these animals would have been left without any care. Care that I can offer them without any displacement or disrespect. I even erase my footprints.

. . . You got me here for so many years. I will always remember and be thankful. . . . I will tell [the bears] of your kindness and generosity. Animals alive because of you. Myself included.

Sincerely,
Timothy Treadwell
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It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -- Carl Sagan

[IGO]

I hadn't quit watched the end of the film when I wrote about it first. Now I just feel like it would have been wonderful to be absolutely sure I could belong to the Grizzly population for some time. I also believe Treadwellhe was pretty much a ding-bat....to be kind.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

[azbackpackr]

Well put, IGO. Don't we all have some fantasy that would probably not work in real life? But he tried to make his fantasy happen, and he believed in it, too. I am gonna have to rent that movie.

[ghoster]

Attributing human emotions to animals or even inanimate objects has always been something I marvel at. Why would bears feel anything toward this guy except as a morsel in their dining menu? Bizarre behavior is the best I can come up with. At least he got what he wanted.