Timothy Treadwell and the “Grizzly Bear Maze”

Timothy Treadwell’s methods of Grizzly Bear conservation were unique at best. His style served him for 13 years, and he was one of a kind. This is Timothy Treadwell’s story:

Timothy Dexter was a native New Yorker. Wild and hard to handle, he squeaked out of high school with barely passing grades and a taste for drugs and alcohol. With no viable prospects in New York, Dexter headed to Long Beach, California to attend college on a swimming scholarship.

Dexter continued to party hard and he found college life less interesting than his preferred continuous fun; again, with drugs and alcohol. Tim lost his swimming scholarship and had evidently reached a dead end.

With no job prospects in sight but above average looks, he changed his name to Treadwell, which was his mom’s maiden name, and began the acting audition circuit. He secured a few unsubstantial parts, bit roles and work as an extra. His drug and alcohol usage had become so predominant in his life, a friend suggested he go to Alaska and observe Grizzlies and other wildlife in their natural habitat. This friend, a Vietnam Vet, had done so and found the experience soul searching and comforting. Tim took his sabbatical to Alaska, and he kept coming back each summer and filming his adventures and close contacts with the bears and a few foxes that became quite tame. This became his life, however unorthodox it may have been. He didn’t give danger a second thought.

His film footage in the Discovery Channel documentary, “Grizzly Man”, is quite intriguing and it certainly gives you a look at Treadwell’s demeanor. He is “bleeped” quite a bit in his audio, and appeared to be an “angry” person. To paraphrase, he also stated that he wished that he was gay. That would make his social life easier; but, he loved women and brought girlfriends with his to spend the summer. He hated poachers and poachers reciprocated the feeling, leaving messages for Treadwell on logs and such.

Treadwell stated emphatically that being with the Grizzlies had cured his alcohol and drug addiction, “cold turkey. The majesty and beauty of his surroundings had fulfilled something inside his psyche that replaced the need for the drugs and alcohol.

Amie Huguehard worked as a physician assistant in Colorado. She met Tim at a presentation in Boulder in 1996. Soon after their meeting, they became inseparable. She had another job prospect in California in the winter following her last trip with Treadwell, so she went with Tim on a final Grizzly excursion. Amie was not comfortable with the bears; in fact, she was afraid. But, she loved Tim and stuck with him. She would rarely allow herself to be filmed by Tim, but she did hold the camera for him on occasion..

Treadwell lived in the paths of Grizzlies. He did not study them from afar; he studied them in close proximity and gave them names like, “Mr. Chocolate”. He very often turned his back on the potential killers when he was just a few feet away. His trust in these deadly animals was compelling and unwavering, causing much criticism from friends and conservationists alike.

Park rangers estimated the Katmai National Park where Treadwell spent most of his time, had a population of approximately 3000 Alaskan Brown Bears, otherwise known as Grizzly Bears.

Rangers insisted that camps be moved 1 mile away from the original spot every 5 days. Treadwell chose instead to make his camp on known Grizzly trails and keep it there all summer. He had commented to one of his friends that he “would be honored to end up in bear scat”. He kept his camp camouflaged from above to hide from “flyovers” and called the area the Grizzly Maze.

In 2003, Treadwell and Amie went to an Alaskan airline to return to California. It is said that Treadwell “got into an argument” with one of the Airline employees, and with his volatile temper, he and Amie returned to the camp for another week.

A bush pilot, Willy Fulton, was scheduled to pick them up at the end of the week. Instead, as he flew over the campsite he saw a bear, a flattened tent, and human remains. Fulton contacted park rangers.

The rangers killed the bear which had been tagged and tattooed on his lip as bear 141. The bear was 28 years old and a necropsy found human remains and clothing in him. A smaller bear was also killed and when the rangers returned to the site the next day; only the Bear’s head remained uneaten.

Two pair of shoes were still neatly affixed outside the tent. The bear had killed and partially eaten Treadwell, 47 and Amie, 37. One of the victims had the presence of mind to turn on the audio on one of the cameras during the attack. It was assumed to be Treadwell and he did not have time to remove the lens cap.

Jewel Relovak retains the audio and will not release it to the public. It records the last six minutes of the lives of the victims; not with a loudly growling bear, but a low growl and the two people screaming. Treadwell was telling Amie to run, that he was being killed, but she grabbed a frying pan and began hitting the bear. She stayed by her lover’s side and it cost her life.

Relovak, evidently a former close friend and lover, scattered Treadwell’s ashes in the Grizzly maze. Timothy Treadwell’s conservation methodology cost himself and his current girlfriend an abbreviated life.

Sources: Discovery Channel Documentary, “Grizzly Man”.

Yellowstone-bearman.com/Tim_Treadwell.html

Outside.away.com/outside/news/200401/200401_blood_brothers_1.html