In October of 2003, Timothy Treadwell, founder of Grizzly People, an organization whose goal is to preserve the grizzly bears and their habitat in America, was killed outside his tent by a bear. His girlfriend at the time, Amy Huguenard, was killed with him. Only to show how vicious the attack was, I will quote the facts-22 pounds of Timothy Treadwell’s body were recovered, 28 pounds of Amy Huguenard’s. Timothy’s 13 summers of study among the bears was the subject of a movie, Grizzly Man, by Werner Herhog, and in the movie there is only a brief glimpse of Amy Huguenard, but her role in the story remains haunting and full of meaning.
Amy Huguenard still haunts me, mainly because I love the outdoors, the wild areas, mainly because I know I would have followed Timothy there, too. Something about the event makes me want to memorialize her, makes me want to fix her in the public mind for all time. She deserves that. Not just as an adjunct to Treadwell, but as a force in her own right.
Who is this Amy Huguenard, this woman whose name will be forever linked with the famous ‘Grizzly Man,’ Timothy Treadwell? You can google her name and find it linked with his repeatedly. But none of it tells you about the woman herself. Perhaps, much can be gleaned from what is not said. And much can be gleaned from what we know of Treadwell. And much that can be gleaned from the circumstance of death itself.
The details about Amy’s life are sparse and tantalizing. She was thirty-seven years old at the time of the attack, very blonde like Treadwell, and in fact, she had a job waiting for her when she turned back from the airport with Timothy and went back to the camp among the bears. They returned to the camp in Katmai National Park later in the year than Timothy usually stayed among the bears–a time of year when food was more scarce and the conditions harder for the bears. And this small detail is what may have cost them their lives.
As you watch 46-year-old Treadwell in the movie and listen to his background, you get the sense of a man troubled by bipolar disorder-peaks of grandiosity interspersed with bouts of depression and alcoholism. He managed to find a degree of comfort out in the wilderness among the bears. But even then, that comfort began to ‘elevate’ to a feeling that only he could protect the bears, only he could be accepted by them. He railed at poachers. Others involved in land management and conservation began to get in his way. They began to challenge him on his actions, and even to challenge his motives. It became an ‘us-and-them/me-against-the-world’ fight for Treadwell.
Into this backdrop came Amy Huguenard. At thirty-seven, she surely was acquainted with the world at large, and the many different types of people that inhabited it. Did she know of the play of dark and light that colored Treadwell’s character? Did no inner voice urge caution with him? She had met him 7 years before that event and had been to the camp with him before, and it’s said she was afraid of the bears. How deep was the affection between them? And why did she stay with him when she knew it was the time of the year to leave, and she had a job waiting for her?
One has to conclude that Amy believed in Treadwell’s work with the bears. A woman does not go amidst a bear population from mere affection or sexual attraction. She would have had to believe. And whatever karmic coincidence put Treadwell in her path, she was ready to share his experience of close contact with the bears, despite her fears. He had access to the world of the bears, and she wanted to know that world. He was famous in his sphere, as well-another inarguable attraction. And he was, it is said, very charming. Again, what woman could resist? All the features that caused women’s missteps throughout time immemorial were there in the person of Timothy Treadwell and his life with the bears-charm, energy, fame, dedication–a perfect storm of temptation and opportunity for Amy. So she went. Who could blame her? Who could deny her this unique experience?
But there is the time after that to account for. That fateful moment when there was a problem with his ticket at the airport, and Treadwell, in a huff, turned around to go back to the bears. She knew-she had to have known-that he had reached a point of recklessness. And she went back with him to look after him. She worried for him and wanted to protect him-another woman’s trap.
When the attack came, facts show she defended Treadwell, hitting the attacking bear over its head with a frying pan. To no avail. But she stood there with Treadwell when she could have run. The ‘outside world’ that Treadwell was so at odds with was there with him at the end in the form of Amy Huguenard. Those women he had never been able to connect with were with him that day in the form of steadfast Amy Huguenard. Fighting for his life. And failing. A metaphor, perhaps-for Treadwell. A metaphor for all women, as well.
The story is a cautionary tale to many-but it is so much more than that. Amy said ‘yes’ in a big way that autumn. She said yes to the experience of living among the bears and conquering her fears. She said yes to being with Treadwell, with all his faults.. She said yes to defending another human being to the point of giving her own life. She knew the risks of all these things and still said yes. Amy Huguenard stretched the boundaries of who she was that autumn. Perhaps not wisely-but fully. .And she will live on in memory because of it.
We cannot but help but honor the spirits of both these people. Heroes, both-each in their own way. But as a woman, I tip my hat today-especially-to Amy Huguenard.
