# Man slaps Kodiak brown bear **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100 "2005-08-01T06:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/41 "2005-08-02T15:44:58Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > I heard it on the web. And yes it was disturbing. Especially at the end when you hear that loud burp. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/42 "2005-08-02T16:06:48Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Especially at the end when you hear that loud burp. That’s pretty rude, guy. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/43 "2005-08-02T16:22:36Z")
Maybe you’re more empathetic toward someone who caused the death of another through the pursuit of machismo. Me, not so much. He willfully camped in the middle of a bear trail to show off to his girlfriend and got her killed for it. What a freakin’ asshole. Is it a shame he died? Why, hell yes. Does he deserve omission from the same derision we show other Darwin contenders? Why, hell no. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/44 "2005-08-02T16:31:38Z")
I’m surprised that no-one has mentioned Troy Hurtubise and _Project Grizzly_ yet. > **[Improb: Emerging Products, Styles, and Trends](https://improb.com)** > > Improb is dedicated to delivering insight into the best gear, cutting-edge tech, adventure, rides, apparel, design and more. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/45 "2005-08-02T17:40:34Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Maybe you’re more empathetic toward someone who caused the death of another through the pursuit of machismo. Me, not so much. He willfully camped in the middle of a bear trail to show off to his girlfriend and got her killed for it. What a freakin’ asshole. > > Is it a shame he died? Why, hell yes. Does he deserve omission from the same derision we show other Darwin contenders? Why, hell no. Not to be disrespectful to the memory of either person, but she knew the dangers as well as he did, I’m sure. I don’t know how long they’d dated but I never dated him and I know _ **bears might eat you** _. They both knowingly accepted the dangers just being where they were in that part of the state. And it’s a shame when most people die violently, IMHO. It’s ironic in his case as well, but **lieu** , there’s no joke material for you in this story. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/46 "2005-08-02T17:51:43Z")
Give a bear a fish and he’ll eat you. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/47 "2005-08-02T17:54:45Z")
The real reason the bear in the OP slapped the drunk back was not because the drunk slapped him – which, as a bear, he could hardly feel – but rather, just before he did it, the drunk said, “Watchoo talkin’ 'bout, Willis?” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/48 "2005-08-02T18:01:29Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > “Watchoo talkin’ 'bout, Willis?” I don’t get that one. Maybe I should be happy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/49 "2005-08-02T18:07:12Z")
You missed my point as I didn’t mean for it to be funny. I’m angry at him for his reckless stupidity. Because of Timothy Treadwell’s obsession, he, the woman who cared about him and two brown bears at Katmai are dead. Any other hikers in the park were put at risk because of his behavior. This was an incredibly selfish act on his part. My sense is that anyone that’s caused that much destruction deserves little more than a bear belch as an epitaph. You well may feel differently but after taking numerous bear behavior courses and spending a lot of time around brown bears in Alaska because of my legitimate work there, this just pisses me off to no end. We enjoyed watching them from a safe distance and we didn’t do anything stupid that was going to cause us or them to be killed. Never in a million years is anyone encouraged to participate in this (Treadwell’s) kind of behavior. It’s exactly what you don’t do. From [this…](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/142982_bearattack08.html) > [@](#): > > Over the years, Park Service officials, biologists and others expressed concern about his safety and the message he was sending. > > “At best he’s misguided,” Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai and Lake Clark national parks, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2001. “At worst, he’s dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/50 "2005-08-02T21:25:49Z")
I’ve got to agree with **lieu** about Treadwell. Prior to 2003, his name, when mentioned on usenet, was almost always paired with the words “bear expert,” and especially after his appearance on Letterman promoting his book, there were many people posting in groups like rec.backcountry about how safe it is to _deliberately_ interact very closely with bears. These are earnest campers – and most of 'em probably wouldn’t recognize an appeal to authority if it bit 'em, casually crushing their spine and wandering off into the bush. Most of these fine people, if they happened to learn that heading into the deep country with some river-chilled brews to chill with the bruins was a bad idea _the hard way_, would barely cause a ripple on the media radar. Taking the long view, it’s probably a good thing that a guy who was popularizing the idea of crashing the teddy-bears’ picnic is now associated with the words “fatal mauling victim” rather than “bear expert.” ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/51 "2005-08-02T21:49:54Z")
Just for a reality check, here is a link to a photo of Jake’s great grandfather, Alex, who was a bear guide on the island. He was a great guy, I used to live two houses down from him in the village. [http://www.justamere.com/genealogy/Photos/PanamaroffPhoto.asp](http://www.justamere.com/genealogy/Photos/PanamaroffPhoto.asp) Scroll halfway down the page, Alex is on the left side of the page. Oh, and he’s the only person photographed with a bear. (No worries, this is not a graphic photo.) The bear is not unusually large, by Kodiak Island standards. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/52 "2005-08-02T22:16:26Z")
I’ve seen the documentary _Grizzly Man_ that legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog made about Timothy Treadwell and is releasing this year. It’s an amazing film. Treadwell comes off as a jerk, pretty much. He had convinced himself he had the best interests of the grizzlies at heart, but he was arrogant, self-obsessed, and completely ignorant. The outtakes Herzog uses are staggering. And the audio record of his death was captured on camcorder. He grabbed for it when he realized he was being attacked, but he couldn’t get the lens cap off, so it’s audio only. There’s a scene in the movie where Herzog visits one of Treadwell’s ex-girlfriends, who is the keeper of this tape. She has not listened to it herself, but she allows Herzog to. The scene shows Herzog standing silently with headphones; we don’t hear the audio. At the end, he gives it back to her, saying, “You should never listen to this,” and implies she should destroy it. According to the film, whatever anybody claims to have heard, it isn’t the actual audio record of Treadwell’s death. The authorities reviewed the tape as part of evidence, and gave it to the ex-girlfriend along with Treadwell’s other personal effects. No copies were made and the ex-girlfriend keeps the tape stashed, if in fact it still exists. I highly, highly recommend the film. It’s one of Herzog’s best documentaries, and was easily the best documentary I saw at the Seattle film fest. Better than _Murderball_, better than _Mad Hot Ballroom_, better than _After Innocence._ Just amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/53 "2005-08-02T22:29:06Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I’ve got to agree with **lieu** about Treadwell. Prior to 2003, his name, when mentioned on usenet, was almost always paired with the words “bear expert,” and especially after his appearance on Letterman promoting his book, there were many people posting in groups like rec.backcountry about how safe it is to _deliberately_ interact very closely with bears. \ Yet another reason to keep your distance from bears - our local bear expert told us how a female bear will often not give birth after a run-in with a human. Being around humans is very stressful for the bears, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/54 "2005-08-03T00:44:23Z")
> [@](#): > > And the audio record of his death was captured on camcorder. > [@](#): > > According to the film, whatever anybody claims to have heard, it isn’t the actual audio record of Treadwell’s death. What am I missing here? Is it, or isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/55 "2005-08-03T02:05:55Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > What am I missing here? Is it, or isn’t it? Check out the article at [NPR.org](http://NPR.org). The tape was supposedly put into a safe deposit box uncopied. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/56 "2005-08-03T02:24:05Z")
Treadwell’s an idiot, sure, but it looks like I may be for thinking what I heard on-line was the real deal. Hey, everything on the internet is true right? Right? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100/57 "2005-08-03T02:35:08Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Hey, everything on the internet is true right? Right? You owe me $20.00. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-slaps-kodiak-brown-bear/315100.md?page=2)