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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Bears - 2, Tigers - 1, People - 0 |
| 2003-10-08 |
| An advocate of grizzly bear protection and his camping companion were mauled to death by one or more bears in a remote part of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, officials said Tuesday. Killed were Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, California, said the National Park Service and the Alaska State Troopers. Treadwell was the founder of Grizzly People, an organization devoted to the protection of grizzly bears and their habitat. According to the group’s Web site, Treadwell’s practice was to travel to bear country without weapons. Treadwell, a former drug addict, was featured on the Web site of actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio. According to a biography on the site, Treadwell beat his addiction by spending time in the Alaskan wilderness, where he developed his fondness for bears. Who says drug use doesn’t cause brain damage? The deaths were discovered when an air-taxi pilot flew to the site Monday afternoon to pick up the campers. He found the campsite damaged and a brown bear atop what appeared to be a human body, eating the remains. Humm, tastes like environmentalist! When park rangers and state troopers flew to the remote site to recover the bodies, they had to kill two aggressive bears that were threatening them, officials said. PETA will be upset. The service had cautioned Treadwell for several years about his bear-safety practices, spokesman John Quinley said. Treadwell made a practice of getting within inches of the animals, but the Park Service recommends a 50-yard distance, he said. And a heavy caliber weapon. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #26 I feel Treadwell had some void in his own personal life which drew him to the bears and he wanted people to believe and him himself that he had a special connection with these animals. It could have been Tom cruise out there getting away with not being attacked until that fateful day he ran across the wrong one. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5595 2004-07-07 1:31:43 PM |
| #25 Was the guy irresponsible? Absolutely. Did he probably do more harm than good to the bears he cared about by getting him and his friend eaten? Probably. Did he and his friend deserve to die? No. A mauling probably would have helped enlighten him. Seems like the bears serve the purpose of reminding us that, stripped of our weaponry, alone in the forest, we are puny and out of place. Bravery and stupidity are close neighbors. Knowing nothing about this guy other than he died pursuing his passion he deserves admiration. His wrongheadedness notwithstanding. |
| Posted by: Raven911 2004-2-21 12:04:12 PM |
| #24 The use of pepper spray with bears is a new one! Anybody else heard of this practice? |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-10-9 12:16:42 PM |
| #23 I've seen Grizzlies in Montana and Wyoming(from the car, way off in the distance) I once saw a Black Bear jog across the road 20 meters ahead of my car in suburban Jersey less than 30 minutes drive from the Lincoln Tunnel - practically in view of Manhattan. That was a shock. I understand that Black Bears are not dangerous unless you accidentally find yourself in between a mother and her cub. They're a real nusance though. I wouldn't want to bump into one in the woods or walking down the street for that matter. I read that Park Rangers are using pepper spray to the eyes to protect against bear attacks. |
| Posted by: Tokyo Taro 2003-10-9 12:12:38 AM |
| #22 They don't call 'em animals for nothing... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-10-8 9:46:31 PM |
| #21 Just saw a short segment on NBC that featured some old footage of a previous interview with this Treadwell guy. His take: "I think the bears are misunderstood." Unfortunately for Treadwell, it wasn't the general public's perception of grizzlies as potentially dangerous beasts that was a misunderstanding. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-8 9:07:18 PM |
| #20 I have a friend who actually met Treadwell. Had the task of escorting him around a convention of some kind. Treadwell had spent so much time around the bears that he had no people skills left. Either that or his brain was addled from drugs. Hard to know for sure. I understand that he was aware of how dangerous it was, despite his claims to the contrary. If his claims of interactions with the bears are true, I'd say he probably died because the bear didn't think it he had the appropriate standing to have sex. It's one thing when the jealous male is twice your size. It's quite another when he's ten times your size. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-10-8 8:19:41 PM |
| #19 I shot a black bear with a .44 Mag pistol round in a defensive situation. It rolled him over and severed his spinal cord just behind the shoulder. He ran almost as fast as normal on his front legs with his hind legs dragging till I finished him off with another round. I also shot a big grizzley with a .270 remington mag rifle and 175 gr bullet. I shot the bear right through the heart when he was facing me. He flipped over, then ran into the woods and brush. After a few hours, I followed the blood trail and found him 150 yards later. The bullet had punctured the heart and he ran that far before he died. So if you are hunting, you need some serious foot lb of energy to take down a grizzly or Kodiak bear. Close range is a drag. No margin. I like shotguns and slugs for self defense in closer quarters. Best policy is to avoid a confrontation. The paperwork is a bitch with Fish and Game. Also you have to skin the bear and you do not get to keep the hide or meat. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-10-8 7:15:02 PM |
| #18 I remember a night in the summer of 1982 when a lonely hoser was working some cigarette buttes and shards of vomit towards a drain by Shamu's tank at Sea World of Ohio. Old Shamu heard me rustling around his tank and came up to investigate. He eyed me up as I ran my stream of water along the cement barrier of Shamu's abode. Being curious, friendly or hungary he slid himslef up on a shallow area in his tank were the trainers show him off to kids between the show and opened his mouth wide inviting me to pet his tongue like a volunteer does in the show. It was four in the morning and nobody was around as far as I could see. I had always been curious about what a killer whales tongue felt like or whether killer whales had halitosis. For a long moment I paused in my hosing and pondered the question that Robert Frost had described in his famous poem about paths in the woods. But being the Super Hose and not the Stupid Hose, I chose the path more travelled and hosed on by Shamu on my way to the Japanese Village. That is the differernce between me and the self-taught bear enthusiast. Sometimes I think I should have hit Shamu in the eye with the straight stream for tempting me, but I was not a cruel teenager. Besides, I needed the cashflow. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-8 6:55:04 PM |
| #17 My firearms training mostly includes the 5 inch 54 cal variety, but I would go for the hollow point ammo option and not ask PETA for their opinion. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-8 6:42:15 PM |
| #16 I've heard the .357 Mag advice as well...anybody with a better knowledge of firearms and/or bears want to comment? |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-10-8 5:53:12 PM |
| #15 Malibu, California... Aren't these the same type of people who got into an uproar about Alaska thinning the wolf populations a few years ago? What does someone who lives in Malibu (or Hollywierd) know about wolves (or bears or reality itself for that matter)? The way I understand it (heresay - never been there) you need at least a .357 Mag when wandering around the forests up there to even slow down a Grizzly or Kodiak... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-8 5:32:49 PM |
| #14 Reminds me of that shark expert who said standing still in the middle of a group of sharks is perfectly safe, as long as you don't make any sudden movements. The show was called "Anatomy of a shark bite". Guess who was the star? |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-10-8 4:14:54 PM |
| #13 Another couple of supporters of Gray Davis get what's coming to them! I agree, definitely Darwin Award material. Add to the list the parachutist that tried to parasail past the Royal Gorge bridge last weekend, but ended up hitting one of the support wires and crashing 1000 feet below. It's going to be really difficult to pick a winner at this year's awards banquet. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-10-8 3:43:16 PM |
| #12 Could have been worse... http://www.theonion.com/onion2920w/bearrape.html |
| Posted by: mjh 2003-10-8 3:36:02 PM |
| #11 Not only did Treadwell die, but his female companion was munched, too, because of Treadwell's stupidity. And because of his irresponsible behavior, two bears had to be killed. Bears are strong, complex creatures and are irratable before hibernation. They are probably eating spawned-out rotten salmon and fattening up before winter. The bears at the camp were probably agressive, in my opinion, because they were guarding their buried moonbat food supply that they had recently acquired. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-10-8 3:13:15 PM |
| #10 My personal favorite was the seal expert who should have expanded her studies to shark behavior. |
| Posted by: Superhose 2003-10-8 2:39:40 PM |
| #9 One news story described Treadwell as a "self-taught" bear expert. Rather a stinging indictment of the whole do-it-yourself philosophy, no? |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2003-10-8 2:30:20 PM |
| #8 ..both of Malibu, California,.. Now there's a place that cranks out bear experts by the score, no?? ;) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-8 2:05:40 PM |
| #7 ...Y'Know, this reminds me for all the world of that nutcase (from near here, BTW) who decided to go swimming with Shamu at Sea World Florida couple of years ago, and was apparenty rather surprised when Shamu whacked him hard enough to kill him. He was also a 'free spirit' (TRANSLATION: Late-20's homeless druggie wandering the country and enabled by his parents)who loved animals, and whose parents sued Sea World afterwards. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2003-10-8 2:00:47 PM |
| #6 What sort of "fondness" requires you to get within inches of a wild animal? Perhaps bears oppose date rape? |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-10-8 1:36:01 PM |
| #5 According to the Associated Press, this fellow wrote a book insisting the bears were harmless. So he didn't just unthinkingly get close to the bears, he deliberately did it. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-10-8 1:13:43 PM |
| #4 Guess the bears don't link to Leonardo's website. Boy, I'll bet they're embarrassed. Cause of death: Misplaced self nobility. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-8 12:45:57 PM |
| #3 "Definatly Darwin Awards nominee...." Just like Rachel Araflat and that idiot who fell of the bridge while protesting the liberation of Iraq. |
| Posted by: Atrus 2003-10-8 12:41:39 PM |
| #2 The service had cautioned Treadwell...about his bear-safety practices...Treadwell made a practice of getting within inches of the animals Um, yeah... I wouldn't call that "bear-safety practice". F'ing moron might as well have dowsed himself in Worcestershire sauce beforehand. Another Darwin award nominee who thought he was so special the world would make an exception for him. Can you hear me now? |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-10-8 12:41:26 PM |
| #1 Definatly Darwin Awards nominee.... |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2003-10-8 12:38:25 PM |