TWO bears were shot and killed? I thought it was just one but I suppose if they didn’t know which bear killed him they’d have to kill more than one. Or was it two bears that attacked?
Either way, it is incredibly foolish of him to have done that. And his actions probably caused a great many other bears to get accustomed to people which, in the long run, is not good for them. And sad considering that he was trying so hard to save them–didn’t anyone around him try to explain that he was ultimately doing both himself and the bears a disservice?
I don’t know a whole lot about Treadwell so if someone wants to correct me the way I’ve been correcting others about McCandless then please go ahead, but his Wikipedia article says that park rangers killed an adult bear that was guarding Treadwell’s campsite (and his remains) and shortly after they also killed an adolescent bear that charged at them. The article indicates that at least one of the bears had eaten human body parts, but it’s not clear as to which one – and I guess a bear other than the one(s) that killed Treadwell and his girlfriend might also have eaten some of the remains.
Gah. Just typing that out makes me feel sick. I’m sure starving to death isn’t a whole lot of laughs either and the dead person probably can’t/doesn’t care what happened to their body, but it still seems especially horrible to know that bits of Treadwell and his girlfriend were recovered only via bear autopsy.
Yeah, I clicked Treadwell on accident because I thought I was voting for Into The Wild guy, but after reading the thread, I think I made the better choice. What I’ve heard of McCandless makes it sound like he really wanted to leave his fate entirely up to chance, or even to commit suicide in the grandest and most romantic way he could.
For all those who are voting Treadmill, doesn’t Nikolayenko’s 33 year track record show that Treadstone wasn’t the biggest fool? Some people don’t make it 33 years with humans. I’d say that shows that co-existing with bears is possible, and that McCandie’s inept bumblitude was the worst out of the three. Of course, McCandle’s actions might have been a purposefully and Romantic suicide as Nicolas Bourbaki points out, which disqualifies him from the stoopid praize.
That really only applies if you’ve taken the basic precaution of leaving your itinerary and plans with a responsible person who is staying back in civilization. Someone who expects to get a phone call from you on a certain day, indicating that you have indeed returned safely from your expedition, and who will put rescue operations into motion if they don’t hear from you. No doubt the Scouts, and any responsible outdoorsy organization would tell you to do that as well. If no one knows where you are and when you plan to return, and you aren’t seeing other hikers/hunters/etc. on a frequent basis, then self-rescue becomes the only option.
Me too. Just the idea of it is awful. Especially considering how much he loved them–it must have been a huge shock. Not so much for the rest of the world but since he genuinely believed that he and the bears had this kind of bond going on. Considering how he acted with them–getting up close, making eye contact, and for the love of god, TOUCHING CUBS–how an irate mama bear didn’t maul him years ago boggles the mind. You don’t have to even know bears to know that you don’t touch baby animals.
I voted Treadwell because I assume that Treadwell was supposed to be trained enough or experienced enough to know that Grizzly Bears are not house pets.
I think he deluded himself into thinking that his own expertise gave him some sort of protection, and that the bears had become accepting of his presence (as if he were a member of their “family”). He should have known better.
Steve Irwin got killed by an animal he knew to be dangerous, but (IIRC) he didn’t see in time to avoid. We don’t know if Nikolayenko got careless and complacent, or if he just flat ran out of luck.
Treadwell video taped his activities, and most folks can clearly see that Treadwell is starting to lose his objectivity and even common sense with regard to the bears.
McCandle’s mistake was not knowing that he needed to know more. We all start out that way. (Needing to know more, that is.)
I vote for Treadwell. I saw the TV film about him-the section where is was on film, waxing ecstatic about a lump of bear shit in his hand-that did it for me. The man was seriously deluded-nobody who works with wild animals loses sight of the fact that they are…animals-unpredictable and capable of killing a human in seconds.
McCandless is a close second-he was arrogant and stupid. His trip may well have been an elaborate suicide-I still cannot understand what would drive someone to do what he did.