He was a manic deluded idiot who managed to get a bear destroyed for doing what a bear does.
That’s funny, I was never “taught” that from the media. Bears – or any animal for that matter – are not capable of being “bloodthirsty”; they kill because it’s necessary to their survival, either to get food or defend themselves. That’s what I’ve always seen in “the media”, except for horror/sci fi movies.
So, just like that, you went from one extreme to the other? In your worldview, bears started out as bloodthirsty killers, then became playful and affectionate and like dogs? That you are able to hold either extreme – and extremely incorrect – worldview about bears, does not incline me to put much credence in anything you say.
How can anyone possible equate “he decided to take his chances” with “he was in the wrong place at the wrong time”? He decided to put himself in that wrong place! Being in the wrong place at the wrong time would be if you were just walking down the street and a meteorite hit you; that’s an act of pure chance that had no connection (other than randomness) to any decision you made.
But this guy, by your own words, made the choice to hang out with the bears, to change his original plan, etc. So there was nothing “wrong place, wrong time” about it; his decision(s) led directly to his death. He wasn’t nutso for “finally being killed”, but he was clearly crazy for repeatedly putting himself in a position where the natural instincts and behavior of a wild animal could well lead to his death.
I have zero sympathy for him, I quite frankly believe that he got what he deserved. He may not have been clinically crazy, but he was a fool beyond measure.
At least he died being where he wanted to be.
And his documentaries were very interesting.
How did he get a bear destroyed?
Probably by having it eat him.
Exactly right. Any bear that attacks a human up here is hunted down and killed, if possible, regardless of provocation.
If it was sick enough to be starving and late for hibernation, it probably wasn’t going to make it through the winter anyway, I would guess.
Explain, please. I’ve read the account of what happened to the bear, and I’m not sure how he “managed to have it destroyed”.
Perhaps she was menstruating.
I guess that answers that question. Now we just need to know if the Pope is really Catholic.
That happened with a friend of mine from Czechoslovakia. He was eaten by a bear and the rangers had to hunt it down. They finally came across a breeding pair, but they were’ne sure which of them ate him A witness told them “The Czech is in the male”.
Two bears destroyed. The male probably responsible for his death was killed as they tried to retrieve Treadwell’s remains. Rangers we subsequently charged by a second bear, an adolescent, which they had to put down as well.
Treadwell’s was a pitiful search for validation. When feelings of disgust would begin to arise as I watched the show, disgust over his selfish and irresponsible reasons for being there, they were tempered by the perception he really had little control over himself. He was one stupendously lost, screwed up soul.
That reminds me of the midget Resistance fighter from Prague who ran into a shop in Budapest while being chased by the Nazis. He begged them to hide him. Fortunately, the shop was able to cache a small Czech.
Except maybe vampire bats.
…and mosquitoes
…and leeches
…and Darwin’s finches…
[sub]I keed, I keed.[/sub]
Make that two of us. I’m watching it right now, as a matter of a fact. Amazing film.
He was on Park Service land. The bear who was protecting the site where the bodies of Treadwell and his girlfriend were found was shot by rangers when they were retrieving the bodies. Another bear charged the rangers at that time and was also shot. The first bear was shown to have eaten of the couple’s remains, although it’s not certain that it was the bear which attacked them.
So let me correct, he’s responsible for two bears being destroyed.
Edit to add - thanks, Lieu, for getting there first. I’ve been out all day at a training class.
Been out of town for a few days, so sorry for the delay.
The analogy is apt. The soldier on patrol did not do EVERYTHING to avoid them - he did not refuse to go on patrol that night (and perhaps pay the consequences of court martial, jail, whatever. But he’d still be alive).
The point I am making is that, of those soldiers who die in Iraq, we do not say “he was clearly crazy for repeatedly putting himself in a position where ‘known dangers exist that’ could well lead to his death.” Rather than call them “crazy”, we use a different description: “brave”, don’t we ?
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My opinion of bears did not go from “all bears are bloodthirsty killers” to “bears are playful and affectionate, like dogs”. My opinion of bears went from “all bears are bloodthirsty killers” to “bears are a lot more complex than mere killing machines”. As had been depicted in so many movies (and books - including childrens books), bears were “monsters”. Their entire existence was to wait out in the woods and wait for unsuspecting humans to wander their way. Treadwell’s presentation showed that this depiction was not accurate. Not only were they not monsters, but that they were also playful with each other (NOT with humans) and affectionate with each other (NOT with humans).
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Treadwell’s presentation in NO WAY encouraged people to interact with bears. In fact (in MythBusters style), he went out of his way to make sure people understood that they were NOT to encounter bears in the same manner he did. He did speak of the bear viewing sites (like McNeil), and of viewing bears from safe distance and with experts on hand.
The whole point of his presentation was simple “Grizzly bears are not monsters, and are worthy of our respect”.
This is not strictly true. Adult male Grizzly/brown bears will kill (and not eat) cubs. This is why mothers are so protective of their cubs - not from other animals, but from their own species. These adult males do not do this for food or to defend themselves. (I learned this in Treadwell’s presentation).
I was taught that by the Colbert Report. Well, technically Colbert taught me bears were ‘soulless killing machines’ rather than ‘bloodthirsty killers,’ but close enough for jazz.
Anyone else think it’s too bad Treadwell didn’t live long enough to be a guest on the Report?
Well hey, like, it did kinda tie the room together, man.
Do they do this for the same reasons lions do? They kill cubs who are not their own in order to bring the females into estrus quicker. This is a survival mechanism - it increases the number of their own offspring (more receptive & fertile females). It’s not related to feeding or defense, but producing lots of offspring is a genetic survival mechanism.