He wanted to befriend the wild, but at what cost?
*Originally published on September 29, 2021:
Timothy Treadwellwas an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, and documentary filmmaker.
He had spent 13 summers of his life in Alaska's Katmai National Park studying the coastal brown bears, or the "grizzly bears."Treadwellmade several documentaries of his wildlife interactions through videos, photos, and audio. In 2003, 46-year-old Treadwelland his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, lost their lives while camping and recording themselves amidst the wild.
Timothy Treadwell's life, work, and death became a source of inspiration for German film directorWerner Herzog's critically acclaimed documentary film theGrizzly Man, released in 2005. Herzog used Treadwell's journals, including the last audio, to depict the story of a man who considered the bears his friends before being eaten alive by one of them.
Treadwellhad always been an animal lover. After his first encounter with a brown bear in Alaska, he knew he had found the love of his life. After suffering a near-fatal heroin overdose in the late 1980s, Treadwelldedicated his life to the Alaskan wild bears. For 13summers, he kept escaping to the wild and named every bear he encountered.
All these years, Treadwellrecorded almost 100 hours of videos and made a vast collection of still photographs of his animal interaction.
September 2003: Treadwell's quest to see his favorite bear
Each year by September, the bears start preparing for the "Great Sleep."The animals usually hibernate from November until April and feed as much as possible before resting for the months. Most bear watchers leave Katmai during September as the appetites of the bearsrise. On September 26, 2003, Treadwelland Amie were set to return from Kaflia Bay when Treadwelldecided to stay back as he hadn't met his favorite bear yet for the season. It was a female, and Treadwellhad named her Downey.
The couple ventured back to Katmai National Park and camped deep inside the Grizzly Mazein Kaflia Bay to remain undetected by the Park Service. It was Treadwell's favorite spot for bear watching, as he mentioned in his 1997 book Among Grizzlies.
Treadwell set up their camp along with one of the significant bear trails in the Maze. According to his recorded videos, he was aware of the dangerous location. Still, Treadwell was convinced that the animals wouldn't pose any harm as they considered him a friend.
Treadwellstopped using bear spray and electric fence
Considering the bears' friendly, Treadwellstopped using bear sprays and electric fences around his tent. His dangerous tactics for bear encounters had always drawn warnings from the park rangers. Treadwellbelieved he had developed a sense of mutual trust and respect with the animals. However, experts thought he "was breaking every park rule that there was, in terms of distance to the bears, harassing wildlife, and interfering with natural processes."
According to biologistLarry Van Daele, "his decision not to have any defensive methods or bear deterrents in the camp [was] directly responsible for [the] catastrophic event."
Aggressive bears sighted
In the summer of 2003, Treadwell experienced more aggressive bear behaviors. The bears were starving due to drought and preparing themselves gradually for hibernation. As fall approached, salmon populations soared, making the bears very active. After spending 13 years as a bear enthusiast, Treadwellwas well aware of the season and bear activities, yet he still decided to stay.
"But, let me just tell you, just between Amie, myself, and you, every fish ran, every bear was here. We made the best friggin' choice of our lives ... Once the [rain] settled down, boy, it was amazing out here," Treadwelltold his friend Willy Fulton on October 4, two days before his mauled body was found.
The fatal week
On October 5, Treadwelland Amie spoke to Jewel Palovak, co-author of Timothy's book Among Grizzlies,over a satellite phone. Jewel was also one of the few aware of the couple's decision to stay back in the park in September. "You're gonna think I'm crazy," Treadwellhad told Jewel. "But there's a fish run and we're going to go back ... and we want to make sure Downey's okay. What do you think?" Treadwellhad finally met Downey, and they were ready to come back home, as they informed Jewel on October 5.
The couplewas set to return on Monday, October 6, andinformed their friend Fulton to pick them up on his floatplane.
Encounter with the "25th Grizzly"
The horrific attack on Treadwellmade experts believe that he might have encountered the "25th Grizzly." Bears of such nature "tolerate no man or bear, one that will [maul] without bias." Treadwellwas aware of such bears and had also mentioned them in his bookAmong Grizzlies.
In September, the couple recorded interaction with two large male bears whom Treadwellnamed Demon and Machine. Hisbehavior towards the animals seemed convincing that the grizzlies were 25ths. He was still persuasive in befriending them. "The Red Machine is from the old days, the old days of when bears came here and the sight, the smell of a person meant poacher ... How can I communicate to him that I am friend and all the rest are foe?" wrote Treadwell.
October 5: Fateful evening
On the fateful evening of October 5, it's believed that the couple was mauled by the 1,000-pound grizzly, Machine. On Sunday evening, Treadwellheard a bear growling outside their tent. He went out and kept his sound recorder on. In the disturbing audio, later analyzed by Alaska State Troopers, Treadwellis heard shouting for3 minutes, saying that the bear was attacking him. Amie asks him to play dead and to fight back the bear. Treadwellasks her to hit the bear. “Amie get away, get away, go away,” Treadwell's scream is heard over the stormy sounds in tape, urging Amy to save herself. However, his voicegradually reduces to moans while Amie then lets out spine-chilling screams. The 6-minuteaudio clip ends there.
Treadwell's friend, Kodiak air taxi pilot Fulton, arrived to receive the couple the next day, only to witness a horrific sight. As he flew over the campsite, Fulton saw a collapsed tent and a large bear sitting over a pile of what looked like a human body. Fulton landed on the lake and called Alaska State Troopers in Kodiak and National Park Rangers in King Salmon. On arrival, the rangers searched the area and discovered mauled body parts of Treadwella few feet away from the camp. Amie's remains were partially buried under a heap of twigs and dirt next to the torn tents.
The park rangers were forced to kill a charging old male bear and another young one as they cleared the site of the couple's remains. Investigators recovered human body parts and clothes when a necropsy was performed later on the dead adult bear's body. Reports also suggested that the bear was starving due to old age and broken teeth. This might have led to the bear roaming around Treadwell's tent in search of food.
In the 85-year history of Katmai National Park, this was the first known incident of a person being attacked and killed by a bear.
Grizzly Man was co-produced by the Discovery Channel andLions Gate Entertainment. The theatrical release also featured a 2001 interview of TreadwellwithDavid Letterman, which was later retained in the DVD release of the documentary.
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