Grizzly Man

By now, I'm sure many of you have heard of Timothy Treadwell. He was a well known activist who dedicated his life to protecting grizzly bears and spent 13 summers living among them in Alaska.

During his last summer, in 2003, he and his girlfriend were tragically mauled and later eaten by an old, undernourished bear trying to fatten up for the long winter hibernation.


Treadwell's exploits were captured in the movie Grizzly Man. Much of the footage is from scenes shot and narrated in the field by Treadwell himself. It's interesting footage and the movie is worth watching.

After watching it though, I've come to have a different opinion on Treadwell. He had been portrayed as a hero in the environmentalist community as well as in some of the outdoor-related magazines I read. He's viewed as a crusader, as someone who stood up to the "system."

I bought into that, he was protecting the animals he loved. What they failed to mention about Treadwell though, is the fact that he openly hated the National Park Service and regularly skirted the system, as well as common sense, in his crusade.

One scene in the movie has him using extreme language in reference to the park service. He hated the agency and that became clear during his tirade. He broke many park regulations, especially ones regarding camping, designed to place further protection on the animals. The way Treadwell saw it, he was the only one doing anything to protect them.

Nature is nature though, and it didn't seem that Treadwell could ever quite grasp this. He openly wept at seeing a dead fox who he referred to as a friend, and even became broken up over seeing a dead bumblebee. He thought he was the only one who could save the bears. The problem is, they don't really need saving, especially in Alaska.

He especially hated hunters. He couldn't stand how the NPS allowed grizzlies to be hunted and that probably amounted to a lot of his rage. The one thing he didn't understand is that hunting helps. Grizzlies need a huge amount of space. They're solitary creatures and don't do well at all without large areas to roam and hunt. Hunting helps thin out the population, allowing bears to be better fed and it helps curb overcrowding, both of which harm the grizzly population.

A lot of people would say Treadwell got what he had coming. After seeing the movie, I would agree with that. He openly broke park regulations as well as just about every safety tip regarding human interaction with bears. He camped in dense brush, he didn't allow a buffer zone between himself and the bears (he has a clip of himself petting one) and he kept food in his campsite.

I wouldn't say the world is a better place without Timothy Treadwell, he certainly brought attention to grizzlies, but one thing is certain, he showed us what not to do in bear country.