Timothy Treadwell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Timothy Treadwell (April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003), born Timothy Dexter, was an American environmentalist and bear enthusiast who lived among the coastal grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska for approximately 13 seasons. At the end of his thirteenth season in the park in 2003, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard (age 37) were killed and partially eaten by a grizzly bear. The attack was notable because of the unusual lifestyle of the victims, and the survival of an audio recording of the attack. Treadwell's life, work, and death were the subject of the 2005 documentary film by Werner Herzog titled Grizzly Man.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Much of what is known of Timothy Treadwell's life was documented by Treadwell himself. Born in Long Island, New York, Treadwell described himself as an aspiring actor, recovering alcoholic, drug addict, and eco-warrior. According to his account, he became involved with drugs after failing to gain the role won by Woody Harrelson in the sitcom Cheers. Treadwell claimed to his parents that he was the second-choice for the role, but this has not been independently verified.

[edit] Interest in bears

Timothy Treadwell lived among grizzly bears for over 13 years. According to his book, Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska, Treadwell overdosed on heroin and cocaine in the late 1980s. After his release from the hospital, and at the urging of a friend, he traveled to Alaska to watch bears. Treadwell attributed his recovery from drug and alcohol addictions entirely to his relationship with bears. He spent the majority of his time at his favorite location -- an area of especially thick brush known as the Grizzly Maze. Here the chances of crossing paths with Grizzlies were much higher, since the location intersected bear trails. Treadwell was known for getting extremely close to the bears he observed, sometimes even touching them and playing with bear cubs. During the last five summers in Alaska, he was constantly with a camera, and used this to record over 100 hours of footage (much of this video was later used to create the documentary Grizzly Man).

During the winter months, Treadwell lived in California, where he worked as a bartender.

By 2001, Treadwell became notable enough to receive extensive media attention both on television and in environmental circles. He frequently made public appearances as an environmental activist. He traveled throughout the United States to educate school children about bears and appeared on the Discovery Channel, the Late Show with David Letterman, and Dateline NBC to discuss his experiences. He was also a co-author, with Jewel Palovak, of the book Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska, in which he described his adventures on the Alaska Peninsula.

Treadwell, along with his friends Palovak and former American Gladiator Jonathan Byrne, founded Grizzly People, a grassroots organization devoted to protecting bears and preserving their wilderness habitat.

[edit] Violations

Treadwell's years with the Grizzlies weren't without disruption. Almost from the start, the National Park Service expressed their worries about his behavior. It is thought that Treadwell was issued at least six violations from 1994 to 2003. Included among these violations are: Guiding tourists without a license, camping in the same area longer than the Parks Service's five-day limit, improper food storage, wildlife harassment, and conflicts with visitors and their guides. He also frustrated authority by refusing to carry something similar to pepper spray to use as a bear deterrent.

  • In 1998, park rangers issued Treadwell a citation for storing an ice chest filled with food in his tent.
  • A separate incident involved rangers ordering him to remove a prohibited portable generator.
  • When the Parks Service imposed a new rule requiring all campers to move their camps at least one mile every five days, he hid from them, knowing that if he was to move camp, he wouldn't be able to "protect" the Grizzlies. Eventually, he was cited at least once for this violation.

[edit] Death

In October 2003, Treadwell and his physician/assistant girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, visited Katmai National Park in Alaska. Treadwell, who never carried any means of defense against bear attacks, chose to set his campsite near a salmon stream where Grizzlies commonly feed in the fall. Treadwell was in the park later in the year than usual, at a time when bears fight to gain as much fat as possible before winter and limited food supplies cause them to be more aggressive than in other months. It has been noted that food was scarce that fall, so that the grizzly bears were more aggressive than usual.

On October 6, 2003, Treadwell and Huguenard’s bodies were discovered by the Kodiak air taxi pilot who had arrived at their campsite to pick them up. Treadwell's head, partial backbone, and left forearm/hand still wearing his wrist watch were recovered at the scene. Huguenard's partial remains were found near the encampment, somewhat buried in a mound of twigs and dirt. A large, male grizzly (tagged Bear 141) protecting the campsite was killed by park rangers while they attempted to retrieve the bodies. A second adolescent bear was killed a short time later after it charged the park rangers. A necropsy showed that the first animal had consumed parts of the couple's remains. It is unclear if this bear killed the couple or if he ate the remains after their deaths. In the 85-year history of Katmai National Park, this was the first incident of a person being killed by a bear.[1]

A video camera, with the lens cap in place (which blocked all video), was recovered at the site. The camera had been turned on at some point before the attack, presumably by Huguenard, but the camera recorded only six minutes of audio before running out of tape. The audio tape is now the property of Jewel Palovak, Treadwell's long-time friend and has not been released to the public.

[edit] Legacy

Treadwell's methods were generally thought unsound by bear experts and the public alike. He named many of the grizzly bears he encountered, and often moved close enough to interact with them on a personal level. Some wildlife experts objected to his methods, believing that his attitude toward the bears was too cavalier, that he blatantly ignored well-known dangers of working with Grizzlies, and that he dangerously anthropomorphized them. Experts also believe that he inadvertently endangered the animals by habituating them to humans, thus increasing the likelihood of dangerous encounters in the future. His death by bear attack is seen by some as a natural result of his methods.

Critics may say that while Treadwell believed he was protecting bears, control experts have stated that incidents of poaching in the area were low and did not affect the population level. However, it is interesting to note that according to the organization he founded, Grizzly People, five bears were poached in the year following his death, while none had been poached while he was present in Katmai.[1]

[edit] Media Attention

  • In 2005, director Werner Herzog released Grizzly Man, a documentary about Treadwell's work with wildlife in Alaska, which aired on the Discovery Channel. It includes Treadwell's own footage, along with interviews with people who knew him. Grizzly Man is generally considered to be a critical take on Treadwell, his methods and his character; many people claim that Grizzly Man makes Treadwell look mentally unbalanced. However, Herzog does praise Treadwell's video footage and photographs.
  • Leonardo DiCaprio has expressed great interest in producing an upcoming film titled The Man Who Loved Grizzlies. DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, has teamed up with Columbia Pictures to create the film that will cover the life and death story of Treadwell. It is thought that DiCaprio will play the role of Treadwell, as well.[1]


[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/i/m/Timothy_Treadwell_df0c.html"
In other languages