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Frozen Sooner
10/8/2003, 02:03 PM
Wildlife author killed, eaten by bears he loved
KATMAI: Many had warned Treadwell that his encounters with browns were too close.


By CRAIG MEDRED
Anchorage Daily News

A California author and filmmaker who became famous for trekking to Alaska's remote Katmai coast to commune with brown bears has fallen victim to the teeth and claws of the wild animals he loved.

Alaska State Troopers and National Park Service officials said Timothy Treadwell, 46, and girlfriend Amie Huguenard, 37, were killed and partially eaten by a bear or bears near Kaflia Bay, about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage, earlier this week.

Scientists who study Alaska brown bears said they had been warning Treadwell for years that he needed to be more careful around the huge and powerful coastal twin of the grizzly.

Treadwell's films of close-up encounters with giant bears brought him a bounty of national media attention. The fearless former drug addict from Malibu, Calif. -- who routinely eased up close to bears to chant "I love you'' in a high-pitched, sing-song voice -- was the subject of a show on the Discovery Channel and a report on "Dateline NBC." Blond, good-looking and charismatic, he appeared for interviews on David Letterman's show and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" to talk about his bears. He even gave them names: Booble, Aunt Melissa, Mr. Chocolate, Freckles and Molly, among others.

A self-proclaimed eco-warrior, he attracted something of a cult following too. Chuck Bartlebaugh of "Be Bear Aware,'' a national bear awareness campaign, called Treadwell one of the leaders of a group of people engaged in "a trend to promote getting close to bears to show they were not dangerous.

"He kept insisting that he wanted to show that bears in thick brush aren't dangerous. The last two people killed (by bears) in Glacier National Park went off the trail into the brush. They said their goal was to find a grizzly bear so they could 'do a Timothy.' We have a trail of dead people and dead bears because of this trend that says, 'Let's show it's not dangerous.' ''

But even Treadwell knew that getting close with brown bears in thick cover was indeed dangerous. In his 1997 book "Among Grizzlies,'' he wrote of a chilling encounter with a bear in the alder thickets that surround Kaflia Lake along the outer coast of Katmai National Park and Preserve.

"This was Demon, who some experts label the '25th Grizzly,' the one that tolerates no man or bear, the one that kills without bias,'' Treadwell wrote. "I had thought Demon was going to kill me in the Grizzly Maze.''

Treadwell survived and kept coming back to the area. He would spend three to four months a summer along the Katmai coast, filming, watching and talking to the bears.

"I met him during the summer of '98 at Hallo Bay,'' said Stephen Stringham, a professor with the University of Alaska system. "At first, having read his book, I thought he was fairly foolhardy ... (but) he was more careful than the book portrayed.

"He wasn't naive. He knew there was danger."

NO PROTECTION

Despite that, Treadwell refused to carry firearms or ring his campsites with an electric fence as do bear researchers in the area. And he stopped carrying bear spray for self-protection in recent years. Friends said he thought he knew the bears so well he didn't need it.

U.S. Geological Survey bear researcher Tom Smith; Sterling Miller, formerly the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's top bear authority; and others said they tried to warn the amateur naturalist that he was being far too cavalier around North America's largest and most powerful predator.

"He's the only one I've consistently had concern for,'' Smith said. "He had kind of a childlike attitude about him.''

"I told him to be much more cautious ... because every time a bear kills somebody, there is a big increase in bearanoia and bears get killed,'' Miller said. "I thought that would be a way of getting to him, and his response was 'I would be honored to end up in bear scat.' ''

A number of other people said that over the years Treadwell made similar comments to them, implying that he would prefer to die as part of a bear's meal. All said they found the comments troubling, because bears that attack people so often end up dead.

RANGERS RETRIEVE REMAINS

Katmai park rangers who went Monday to retrieve the remains of Treadwell and Huguenard -- both of whom were largely eaten -- ended up killing two bears near the couple's campsite.

Katmai superintendent Deb Liggett said she was deeply troubled by the whole episode.

"The last time I saw Timothy, I told him to be safe out there and that none of my staff would ever forgive him if they had to kill a bear because of him,'' she said. "I kind of had a heart-to-heart with him. I told him he was teaching the wrong message.

"This is unfortunate, (but) I'm not surprised. It really wasn't a matter of if; it was just a matter of when.''

What led up to the latest Alaska bear attack, as well as exactly when it happened, is unknown. The bodies of Treadwell and Huguenard, a physician's assistant from Boulder, Colo., were discovered Monday by the pilot of a Kodiak air taxi who arrived at their wilderness camp to take them back to civilization. A bear had buried the remains of both in what is known as a "food cache.''

The couple's tent was flattened as if a bear sat or stepped on it, but it had not been ripped open, even though food was inside. The condition of the tent led most knowledgeable observers to conclude the attack probably took place during the daylight hours when Treadwell and Huguenard were outside the tent, instead of at night when they would have been inside. Most of their food was found in bear-proof containers near the camp.

Officials said the camp was clean but located close to a number of bear trails. Because of the concentration of bears in the Kaflia Lake area and a shortage of good campsites, however, it is almost impossible to camp anywhere but along a bear trail there.


PILOT CALLS IN TRAGEDY

What transpired in the hours after the phone call is unknown. The Kodiak pilot who arrived at the Treadwell camp the next day was met by a charging brown bear. The bear forced the pilot for Andrew Airways back to his floatplane.

Authorities said he took off and buzzed the bear several times in an effort to drive it out of the area, but it would not leave the campsite established by Treadwell and Huguenard. When the pilot spotted the bear apparently sitting on the remains of a human, authorities said, he flew back to the lake, landed, beached his plane some distance from the camp and called for help from troopers and the Park Service.

Interviews with sources who were on the scene provided this account:

Park rangers were the first to arrive. They hiked from the beach toward a knob above the camp hoping to be able to survey the scene from a distance. They had no sooner reached the top of the knob, however, than they were charged by a large brown bear.

It was shot and killed at a distance of about 12 feet. The Andrew Air pilot, according to Bruce Bartley of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, was convinced the large boar with the ratty hide was the same animal he'd tried to buzz out of the campsite. The boar was described as an underweight, old male with rotting teeth.

Authorities do not know if it was the bear that killed Treadwell and Huguenard. They were to fly to the site on Tuesday to search the animal's stomach for human remains but were prevented from doing so by bad weather.

After shooting that bear, rangers and troopers who had by then arrived walked down to the campsite and undertook the task of gathering the remains of the two campers. While they were there, another large boar grizzly went through the campsite but largely ignored the humans.

A smaller, subadult that appeared later, however, seemed to be stalking the group. Rangers and troopers shot and killed it.

"It would have killed Timothy to know that they killed the bears,'' Palovak said, "but there was no choice in the matter."

"He was very clear that he didn't want any retaliation against a bear,'' added Roland Dixon, a wealthy bear fan who lives on a ranch outside of Fort Collins, Colo., and has been one of Treadwell's main benefactors for the past six or seven years. "He was really adamant that he didn't want any bear to suffer from any mistake that he made. His attitude was that if something like this were to happen, it would probably be his fault.''

Bartlebaugh of "Be Bear Aware'' has no doubts that Treadwell loved the animals but believes the love was misguided.

"I'm an avid bear enthusiast,'' Bartlebaugh said. "It's the same attitude that I think Timothy had, but I don't want them (the bears) to be my friends. I don't want to have a close, loving relationship. I want to be in awe of them as wild animals.''

Palovak, Treadwell's associate, and Dixon take a different view.

"I think (Timothy) would say it's the culmination of his life's work,'' Palovak said. "He always knew that he was the bear's guest and that they could terminate his stay at any time. He lived with the full knowledge of that. He died doing what he lived for.''

"He was kind of a goofy guy,'' Dixon said. "It took me a while to get in tune with him. His whole life was dedicated to being with the bears, or teaching young people about them. That's all he ever did. It was always about the bears. It was never about Timothy. He had a passion and he lived his passion. There will be no one to replace him. There's just nobody in the bear world who studies bears like Timothy did.''




When carrying a .44 into Alaskan bear country, make sure you file the sight off first. That way, it won't hurt so much when the bear jams it up your ***.

RacerX
10/8/2003, 02:13 PM
Amazing.

I've never heard of the guy.

TheHumanAlphabet
10/8/2003, 02:17 PM
What a wack job...

SoonerProphet
10/8/2003, 02:36 PM
live by the bear die by the bear

Pricetag
10/8/2003, 03:03 PM
The only thing worse than being killed by animals would be getting eaten by them.

What the heck is "bear spray"?

Nude Sooner
10/8/2003, 03:10 PM
The solution is simple: sleep in one of the bear proof containers. Then make one with arm and leg holes for daylight activities.

picasso
10/8/2003, 05:26 PM
Is this the same guy who would camp near some secret lake while the bears would feed on salmon in the spring? I saw him on the tellie last winter, dude would stare down the bears if they came near him.

SouthLink02
10/8/2003, 05:51 PM
Dohhhh!

Flagstaffsooner
10/8/2003, 06:24 PM
Like Roy "horn" playing with tigers.

Frozen Sooner
10/8/2003, 06:27 PM
Same guy, pic.

picasso
10/8/2003, 07:48 PM
You know, he should've at least carried a bazooka on his hip as a last resort.
Or had one of those whittled down trees like Anthony Hopkins.

Frozen Sooner
10/8/2003, 07:59 PM
Bazooka's about right.

They tell a story around these parts about survival in bear country.

The first thing is that you should carry bells and pepper spray with you. The noise frightens black bears, and they dislike the pepper spray so much that they'll run even if you don't get them with it.

You should also know how to tell when you're in black bear or brown bear country. The easiest way is to look for scats. Black bear scat is usually small and well formed. It isn't particularly foul in odor.

Brown bear scat has a peppery smell to it, and there's usually little bells embedded.

Frozen Sooner
10/8/2003, 08:00 PM
They also tell you that the best way to tell the difference between a brown and black bear is to climb a tree. While the black bear will climb up after you, the brown will just knock it down.

When traveling in bear country, always bring a pair of running shoes and a slow friend. You'll never outrun a bear, but you only need to outrun your friend.

picasso
10/8/2003, 08:13 PM
Ever heard the true story about Jim Bridger's being attacked in the Rockies?
Apparently the real Jeremiah Johnson and another fella were with him and left him for dead after the attack.
Well ol Bridger somehow was able to sew his face back onto his head and with a broken back crawl about 70 miles through the Rockies to camp. He would lie in maggots and let them eat away the infection. The main motivation he had for living was to find both Johnson and the other fella and kill them deader than Elvis.
The story goes mountain men from all over were in shock of his ordeal and after finding the young Johnson (not Robert Redford) he let him live.

I saw the story on some mountain man special on the History Channel.

Frozen Sooner
10/8/2003, 08:15 PM
That's f-ing hardcore, man. I mean REALLY hardcore.

OUthunder
10/8/2003, 10:45 PM
wow

Texas Sooner
10/9/2003, 08:48 AM
Huguenard, a physician's assistant from Boulder, Colo.

She was from Boulder? Why am I not surprised? $20 says I know what she looked like, too.

Where's Ric?

OUthunder
10/9/2003, 08:52 AM
Huguenard, a physician's assistant from Boulder, Colo.

She was from Boulder? Why am I not surprised? $20 says I know what she looked like, too.

Where's Ric?


HEH!!!

Big Red Wolf
10/9/2003, 10:15 AM
I saw this guy on the discovery channel one time. I watched part of the program and thought he was an idiot. He would get within a couple of feet of the bears and talk to or sing to them. There was at least once during the show when I thought he was going to get attacked. At the time I wondered how long it would be before he got eaten. He lasted longer than I thought he would. I wonder how he likes being bear scat now.

RedstickSooner
10/9/2003, 10:22 AM
Nah, if you're gonna be in bear country, get that super-suit that one dude was working on.

C'mon, some of y'all must've seen the show. He got, like, half-eaten by a bear and decided to build a bear-proof suit. They did a Discovery channel (I think) show on him, showing the Mark 5. It could take a shotgun blast to the chest, a bowling ball dropped from fifty feet, or being hit by a car.

That thing rocked. I'd love to see a naturalist dude use it to go check out grizzlies or somethin'.

Then, maybe I'd try it. Point is, someone else would have to, y'know, beta test it first ;)

My feeling is that the reason this dude got killed is pretty simple:

"who routinely eased up close to bears to chant "I love you'' in a high-pitched, sing-song voice"

I'd maul him for that, too.

RedstickSooner
10/9/2003, 10:24 AM
They also tell you that the best way to tell the difference between a brown and black bear is to climb a tree. While the black bear will climb up after you, the brown will just knock it down.

When traveling in bear country, always bring a pair of running shoes and a slow friend. You'll never outrun a bear, but you only need to outrun your friend.

I'd heard the one about the slow friend before, but that first bit is great.

Your other post about the difference between black and brown bear scat is also a classic -- y'all have some nice, sick humor up there ;)

OU4LIFE
10/9/2003, 10:53 AM
bearanoia

heh

SelmaBamaFan
10/9/2003, 12:11 PM
Is there a cliff note version? I made it half way down then had to stop :(

Sooner Born Sooner Bred
10/9/2003, 12:38 PM
I think frozen knows waaaaaaaaaaaay too much about bear poop.

KaiserSooner
10/9/2003, 12:46 PM
Apparently NBC interviewed that guy a while back...showed some clips of the interview on the news last night.

The guy seemed to be an oddball character....they showed him getting close to bears and singing to them as if they were babies.

SoonerEMT
10/9/2003, 03:09 PM
So I guess we know what ended up as a result of that bear crapping in the woods...

saucysoonergal
10/9/2003, 03:13 PM
So I guess we know what ended up as a result of that bear crapping in the woods...


Yea!!!! EMT is here!!!

Norm In Norman
10/9/2003, 04:22 PM
UPDATE:


October 9, 2003 -- ANCHORAGE - The graphic sounds of a deadly bear attack in the Alaska wilderness were captured on tape, revealing a wildlife author's final screams as he tried to fend off the beast, authorities said yesterday.

Trooper Chris Hill said the tape suggests a video camera was turned on just before Timothy Treadwell was fatally attacked at his campsite. His girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, was later mauled to death by a bear. The recording is audio only, and the screen is blank for all six minutes.

"They're both screaming. She's telling him to play dead, then it changes to fighting back. He asks her to hit the bear," Hill said.

"There's so much noise going on. I don't know what's him and what might be an animal."

The remains of Treadwell, 46, and Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were found Monday at Katmai National Park. Treadwell was known for approaching bears in the wild.

"The audio starts while he's being mauled and ends while he's being mauled," Hill said.

Treadwell may have heard a bear and asked Huguenard to turn on the camera, which was found with the lens cap on packed in a bag, Hill said.

"At first, she sounds kind of surprised and asks if it's still out there. I'm not sure if she was asking if a bear was outside their tent or in the brush," Hill said. "The audio stops because the tape runs out."

Paperclip
10/9/2003, 04:34 PM
Ever heard the true story about Jim Bridger's being attacked in the Rockies?

Great. Now I've got Johnny Horton songs going through my head.

bri
4/28/2004, 01:30 AM
"Bearf*cker! Do you need assistance?!"

AustinTXHorn
4/28/2004, 01:39 AM
bri...stop bringing back old threads! I keep seeing SouthLink and thinking that suckup has made his return or something.

bri
4/28/2004, 01:49 AM
Sorry. I just think bear attack threads should stay near the top of the board. :D

'Cause bears are comedy gold. (http://monkeyproject.com/?mpdex=20040414)

The Fake Don Dokken
4/28/2004, 08:39 AM
getting close to bears to show they were not dangerous.

Um, yeah...enviromoron.

Also, "I'm an avid bear enthusiast...but I don't want them (the bears) to be my friends. I don't want to have a close, loving relationship."

Words to live by.

NYSooner1355
4/28/2004, 08:50 AM
bri...stop bringing back old threads! I keep seeing SouthLink and thinking that suckup has made his return or something.

It seems like bri can't handle adult debate and conversation...so he brings back old bull****...

GDC
4/28/2004, 10:34 AM
I like the part in Lonesome Dove (the novel) when the little ugly but mean as hell bull fights the grizzly to a draw. Always wondered if that was possible.

C&CDean
4/28/2004, 10:44 AM
Kodiaks = be afraid

Spiders & snakes = do not be afraid

I'm wondering at what point in the mauling did the guy realize "man, I sure am a freaking dumbass."

SCOUT
4/28/2004, 10:44 AM
Nah, if you're gonna be in bear country, get that super-suit that one dude was working on.

C'mon, some of y'all must've seen the show. He got, like, half-eaten by a bear and decided to build a bear-proof suit. They did a Discovery channel (I think) show on him, showing the Mark 5. It could take a shotgun blast to the chest, a bowling ball dropped from fifty feet, or being hit by a car.

That thing rocked. I'd love to see a naturalist dude use it to go check out grizzlies or somethin'.

Then, maybe I'd try it. Point is, someone else would have to, y'know, beta test it first ;)

My feeling is that the reason this dude got killed is pretty simple:

"who routinely eased up close to bears to chant "I love you'' in a high-pitched, sing-song voice"

I'd maul him for that, too.

i thought you were talking about the Simpsons episode where Homer had a bear suit but i couldn't find a picture. I did however find the real guy.

His add says, "How does one survive a bear attack, or the attack of a mutant monster?

Put on one of Troy's suits! His latest model is made from stainless steel, heavy-gauge aluminum, and cast titanium. It features a built-in video screen, a cooling system, pressure-bearing titanium struts, advanced protective airbags, shock absorbers, fingered hands, swivel shoulders and built-in arms."

http://www.antville.org/img/2012/troybear.gif

GDC
4/28/2004, 10:47 AM
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/010302/Loc_bearvictim.shtml

GDC
4/28/2004, 12:53 PM
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/photos/images/bearpaw.jpg

This picture is from the link below, be warned, the last link in the story is very gruesome.


http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/photos/bigbear.html

Hella Sideburns
4/28/2004, 01:20 PM
small woodland creatures apparently don't eat penises. Or peni.

yermom
4/28/2004, 01:48 PM
"I know I'll at least be able to smile, even though it might be kind of a Dick Cheney smile."

nice

bri
4/28/2004, 04:33 PM
It seems like bri can't handle adult debate and conversation...so he brings back old bull****...
Wow, that was petty and harsh. You're SO not invited to my "Free Abortions Party".

That'll teach you, meaniehead...

KC//CRIMSON
4/28/2004, 09:25 PM
In other news....

Eagle Attacks, Carries Off Bear Cub

POSTED: 6:34 pm EDT April 28, 2004

OSLO, Norway -- Wildlife experts were stunned this week to see an eagle attack and carry off a bear cub in view of its mother. The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research said it had not been able to find any other such attack documented anywhere.

Sigvart Totland and Jarle Mogens Totsaas were monitoring bears in central Norway for the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management when they saw the attack Sunday.

They saw a family of bears about 400 yards away that was climbing a steep incline. The smallest cub, weighing an estimated 6 or 7 pounds, was trailing behind by about 10 yards.

"Suddenly an eagle swooped down, grabbed the bear cub and flew away with it," Totsaas said Wednesday on the state radio network NRK. "The bear cub was screaming the whole time, and the eagle flew toward us and came very close. We could easily see the bear cub hanging in its claws, and kicking."

Norwegian bears where generally believed to have no natural enemies, which contributed to the surprise of the experts over the attack.

Torgeir Nygaard, of the nature institute, compared the event to finding snow in the Sahara desert.

"There has never been a similar observation," he said on NRK.

In was not clear what happened to the cub after the eagle flew off with it in the Lierene area of Nord-Troendelag county, 450 miles north of Oslo.

NYSooner1355
4/28/2004, 09:56 PM
Wow, that was petty and harsh. You're SO not invited to my "Free Abortions Party".

That'll teach you, meaniehead...

I'm sorry...mommy taught me not to be a meaniehead...I've been forced to apologize (but I have my fingers crossed - so it don't count)...

GottaHavePride
4/28/2004, 11:27 PM
In was not clear what happened to the cub after the eagle flew off with it in the Lierene area of Nord-Troendelag county, 450 miles north of Oslo.
It probably just carried it really high and dropped it to crack it open. Must've thought it was a turtle.

Damn, another joke only Froze and gonzo will get...

Frozen Sooner
4/28/2004, 11:39 PM
It probably just carried it really high and dropped it to crack it open. Must've thought it was a turtle.

Damn, another joke only Froze and gonzo will get...


Eventually, Turtles will grow wings.

You know, Terry Pratchett lays down some pretty heavy epistimological and theological theory in that particular novel. To me, it is by far his best work. A "normal" Pratchett book is amazing. In Small Gods he completely transcended himself.

bri
4/29/2004, 01:20 PM
The last time I went to Falls Creek, I took Small Gods with me and read it three times. Best Falls Creek trip EVAR!

proud gonzo
4/29/2004, 07:15 PM
It probably just carried it really high and dropped it to crack it open. Must've thought it was a turtle.

Damn, another joke only Froze and gonzo will get...


good eating on one of those :D

KABOOKIE
4/29/2004, 07:38 PM
So is Steve Erwin "The Croc Hunter" the next on the list of idiots to be eaten by animals?

Hella Sideburns
4/29/2004, 09:42 PM
The last time I went to Falls Creek, I took Small Gods with me and read it three times. Best Falls Creek trip EVAR!

Wow, Falls Creek. It's been, uh, 4 or 5 years since I last went. Good times. All I did was play basketball when I was there though.

GDC
1/11/2006, 11:19 PM
Finally saw the movie about Treadwell called Grizzly Man. He was a loon.