Grizzly Idiot

I've had to spend a full day thinking about "Grizzly Man" before I could bring myself to write about it. I can't recall the last time I was so incensed by a movie. It's a documentary directed by Werner Herzog about Timothy Treadwell, a self-proclaimed animal lover/naturalist/outdoorsman/ "friend" of the grizzlies. The guy was a total fucking lunatic (pardon me, I know this is a family blog). There is no question that he did more to endanger grizzlies (and foxes, for that matter—he even had a "pet" fox, for heaven's sake) than he did to "protect" them. Each summer he went out to Alaska to a nature preserve—which, by definition, refers to a place where animals are protected—to "save the grizzlies." He flouted the rules of the Park Service; namely, to move his camp a mile each week and to stay 100 yards away from the grizzlies. He seemed to think that he was a grizzly; his attempts to "make friends" with them gave them a false sense of trust for humans and was probably the reason some of them ventured too far into human habitats and were killed. The bear that eventually killed him ended up being shot—which never should have happened, never would have happened, if he'd shown the proper respect any real naturalist does.

Herzog stops just short of decrying Treadwell's actions, but the 2 hours' worth of Treadwell's video footage that he selected for this film, out of nearly 100 hours available, make the case plainly. I know that Herzog was conflicted because as much as he disapproved of—or, at least, failed to understand—Treadwell, he admired his filmmaking ambitions. Some of the footage is indeed beautiful, but that doesn't make anything he did "right." I don't even know what else to say about this movie. You should see it, because it's a well-done documentary, but you will come away from it just furious at Timothy Treadwell. Clearly he was unbalanced mentally, but he did seem to know what he was doing.

From the moment I put the DVD in, I was captivated by the haunting guitar music that accompanied the whole film. I should've guessed it was Richard Thompson. There's a terrific hour-long special feature on the DVD that is all about how the music got made for this movie. It is fascinating and beautiful—don't miss it. On the one hand, I wished I'd watched it first, so I could try to notice the music more; on the other hand, I was glad to have something to relax me and entertain me and impress me after watching the feature film and being ready to throttle Treadwell.

Comments

[ricky]

I remember when Treadwell died, and I remember reading newspaper stories about how his video camera was rolling and the sound was captured without any video.

And I have to say, as awful as it is, but it's my morbid curiosity, I wanted to hear the tape.

I was so irked when the film maker listened to the tape right in front of us and then advised Treadwell's friend to destroy it.

That drove me crazy!

All I thought about the guy was that, for as much as he thought he understood bears, he never understood bears at all.

I thought that, basically, bears have been around people for a couple of hundred years. They've learned to stay away from people. And this guy totally mistook their learned survival instincts for HIS connection to bears.

The bears that he loved, basically, knew to stay away from people.

I didn't really get angry at him, any more than I get angry at guys who pretty much wrap themselves up in seal skins and surf in northern California.

I just thought he was dumber about grizzly bears than most people who had never even seen a grizzly bear.

But it was a great documentary. There were parts of it that were just totally creepy and terrifying.

[Karen]

I think the audio of their deaths probably would've haunted me forever, but I was still a bit morbidly curious, as you put it. I did think it was effective, though, when he said to Jewel, "You must NEVER listen to this tape." That told me a LOT.

I was angry at Treadwell not because he endangered his own life, but because he barged in on the bears in their natural habitat and endangered THEIR lives, all while claiming to be saving them. From whom? We learned that there were virtually no poachers there.

[Jessie]

I haven't made it all the way through the documentary yet, but I do agree with what you've said. And he was definitely a little (or probably a lot) crazy. I tried to watch it on the Discovery Channel (they've been airing it recently) but they show five minutes of the movie and then have about 10 minutes of commercials and I could only make it halfway through because that was driving me more nuts than anything else.

[Kathryn]

Grizzly Man is an excellent example of truth being stranger than fiction. Movies like this are why I love documentaries.

[Denny Bostrom]

I think it would be a great Saturday Night Live skit having Timothy Treadwell say "I love you" in his sing-song way and have the bear knock his head off.

[Kishan]

i wish i had that audio..... would make a great ringtone..... hate that frog

the skit sounds good

AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN TAME A BEAR IS CHUCK NORRIS.

[Ken Peterson]

I am dontating $20 tomorrow to the World Wildlife Fund. Not in Treadwell's name, but in the name of Bear 141 who is my new sad hero for killing Treadwell and being killed for his act. I am just glad Treadwell was killed before reproducing. Obviously a failure in the human world, he tried to redeem himself in the grizzly world and couldn't survuve there either. Here's to Bear 141 for ridding the world of this idiot, although he paid a heavy price for his act.

[Doug Ramirez]

Nearly every culture on Earth has a ceremony associated with death. Hearing Treadwell's final words, while admittedly morbid, would bring closure to those who followed his work. Successfully navigating the waters of a paradox is a measurement of intelligence.

I have to admit that I approached the film with a sense of living by the sword, etc. I think his finest moment is his comments on the government and the park rangers. He was right. Fuck them. He tried, which is more then most people do.

[joseylane]

I believe this was a mentally unstable person, unhappy in life and looking for attention from somewhere. Everyone knows that bears are dangerous. Why would anyone in their right mind want to get that close unarmed? Hopefully, others will learn from this mistake and not repeat this foolish type of thing.

[KRISTIN]

movie was hallarious and i wanna hear that sound bite lol too no pun intended of course

[Theodore Roosevelt]

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew niether victory nor defeat."

-Theodore Roosevelt

[Karen]

Your point being...? TR's actions never brought about the death of a bear.

[James Etchison]

Nice, Hippies. Just because he wanted to go study bears, he deserved to get killed? I suppose killing someone is justifiable if they dare to walk near you? Did Elora Petrasek deserve what she got, too? I mean, she did actually dare to go camping near a waterfall. I'm sick of people claiming that a victim is at fault when all they did was walk near a bear who happened to be hungry or have cubs in the area or saw the person as a threat or competition. Bears are stupid, they will kill for stupid reasons. Humans should not have to worry about being killed by a bear when they want to go camping. I'd be in favor of a massive grizzly/panda bear hunt, perhaps even to extinction. But then again, I'm not the type who puts a bear's discomfort before a human's life.

[Karen]

Treadwell did more than just "walk near a bear" -- he violated park rules that were designed to protect him and the bears. That bear was killed because he decided that he would break the rules and try to "become friends" with a bear. Whether bears are stupid is immaterial -- they are wild animals and are not meant to be our friends or pets. Bears should not have to worry about being killed because some stupid human is camping too close to them.

I'm going to assume you don't really mean what you said about hunting bears to extinction. Everyone knows that all creatures are part of nature's balance, and if we throw off that balance, we risk exterminating all life on earth, including humans.

[James]

"That bear was killed because he decided that he would break the rules and try to "become friends" with a bear. "
No, that bear was killed because he killed two people.

"Bears should not have to worry about being killed because some stupid human is camping too close to them."
No, only if they decide to eat those humans. Or if a human decides to shoot them just because they don't feel safe. But why should we intentionally keep ourselves at the bottom of the food chain?

"Everyone knows that all creatures are part of nature's balance, and if we throw off that balance, we risk exterminating all life on earth, including humans."
Despite having just read that, I don't take it as fact. Many animals have become extinct, and we aren't even close to exterminated as a result.

[Karen]

I can see that we're going to have to just agree to disagree. And, for the record, I think we're awfully close to human extinction.

[Matt]

Hey dumbass James Etchison... All animals serve as part of an ecosystem that is well balanced. By artifically destroying species, you throw it off skew.

Ever heard of what happened in China during Mao's Great Leap Forward? All peasants were encouraged to bang pots together to ward off sparrows from their crops which they were feeding on. Nests were ripped down, hatchlings destroyed, birds shot. The crops being the principle source of food for the sparrows, they eventually starved to death and large numbers of sparrows were wiped out. Except the locusts only predator was the sparrow.. after a year or so, with the sparrow population so low, the locust population ballooned and devoured the crops. 38 million people died of starvation in the following years.

[June]

The documentary, which I watched this evening, reminded me of an entry on "bravery" in a book of daily Tao meditations, which in parts reads:
"Beware the brave man. He may be a hero, willing to risk his very life, but he will also be willing to endanger the lives of others."
Timmy's gal pal should have left him to his own foolishness.

[buddy]

Sorry, my post was sent early my mistake. Not a mistake like chasing off a bear or wolf from a fox den, because you CONSIDER YOURSELF...." A MEMBER OF THAT FOX FAMILY, and the pups are soooo cute!" How did he ever survive as long as he did?????? This idiot KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE WILD and how to respect nature by often leaving things as they are!For God's sake, these are Alaskan preserves. We are not talking about helping a giant turtle exit central park and cross a NYC street at rush-hour. Plus I am sorry, but if this dude did not make you want to pull him through your TV and kick the living sh-- out of him, I'm not sure who would. This moron thought he was a bear one day and a wolf the next and really believed that the amimals loved him and considered him one of their own! This was a very very sick man with an ego about a few thousand times the size of his brain. 20 of 20 (Yes-100%)of friends I asked, all said they cheered when he was mauled. And these people I speak of are hard-working parents with wonderful jobs in Baltimore and Michigan, etc. Not violent types! But this guy annoyed you so badly that you are yelling at your TV. He was so confused, even sexually he had not a clue what type of man (person) he was. This man had more "ISSUES" than Time and Newsweek conbined! He violated nearly every rule of nature there is and had ZERO understanding of how the outdoors are to be respected. Every well done show on animal planet, shows the film maker in a position to be the hero and save the cutest little Lion cubs in the world from the big bad monsters of the African plains. BUT.......they never do! And it kills them not to, but they all state that rule #1 of wildlife filming is to let the circle of life spin as it may. An idea this jerk-off could never follow. So why does a channel like Animal Planet with a lot of high quality programs (not all I know, but some), but now this idiot's,hundreds of hours of lost film footage, is on all night tonight. I thought two hours was enough punishment. So now thousands of kids who love Animal Planet on TV will be learning nothing but THE WRONG WAY TO TREAT THE WILD! Do we want our kids (or anyone viewing)thinking it's safe to kiss giant bears, wolfs, and foxes, simply because you want to. Or you like them and claim to cummunicate and understand one another. Show me a dozen more creeps like this guy and I'll show you a dozen bloody bodies being hauled out of the woods.

[Karen]

I didn't even know this was shown on Animal Planet (I watched it on DVD) -- and I have to agree that that was a questionable programming decision! I can just imagine my own kids saying, "Wow, that's cool -- he made friends with a bear!" Sheesh.

[ADWN]

maybe see what someone who knows something about it has to say, not Werner.

http://cloudline.org/treadwell.html

[Karen]

Thanks for stopping by and sharing that link. Treadwell hits the nail on the head when he admits that he was a trespasser on the bears' land. He did not belong there. His presence caused animals to die unnecessarily. He was wrong.

[Brian]

Timothy Treadwell mistakenly associated human emotion and reason on a wild animal. His error is not uncommon among animal activists and Disney movies. Timothy was convinced he understood these animals and it proved to be his undoing, costing the lives of his girlfriend and himself. There is no mystery to living among wild animals. One can learn animal behaviors and survive among them, based on the animal's predictability in certain settings, however, that doesn't mean you "understand" the animal. Just like, without knowing Treadwell personally, one could have said with reasonable certainty that his tendency to put himself in danger around bears would get him killed one day and been correct. You didn't have to understand Timothy to know what risk his behavior would bring. He just didn't know the difference. He mistakenly confused predictable animal behavior with understanding. Charlie Russell misses the point in his article also.

[Anderw Bales]

I have watched Grizzly Man several times and read more than a few articles about Treadwell; some negative, some rather empathetic. I wanted to write my own piece (and still might) but your work here is, for the most part, a view shared by a number of people.

What struck me most about watching Treadwell associate with bears (and other animals) was his childish (as opposed to child-like) wonderment. In Grizzly Man there is a scene wherein a fox takes a hat of his and runs off with it. Suddenly the animal loving purist becomes enraged, swearing, all the while explaining to the fox how important the hat is to the story. Really?

I believe that contained in that scene was a glimpse of the real Timothy Treadwell. He was a self-appointed protector of animals living in a protected area. He viewed other people, people who never got close enough or had the intent to alter the balance of nature (as he often did) as intruders but felt that his presence was somehow justified. He claimed to love animals (which in some odd and twisted way, it appears that he did) while at the same time making them all too comfortable with humans. He believed that bears communicated not only with him, but with each other about him, which has made me wonder if any of this was really about the bears.

I think in large measure this was all about Timothy. He raged against the world, the park, and those who would do the bears harm, without any reflection regarding the harm inflicted on the location and its inhabitants by his own presence.

Much has been made of his 13 years in the Sanctuary and how for all but the last few days, he had escaped injury and death. When one considers where these bears lived, it is fairly evident that the miracle in that is no miracle at all. The bears Treadwell lived amongst were in an area that rarely left them hungry. They were protected and with an ample food supply, left him alone. During his last season, there was (according to Treadwell) a weak run of fish. From that point on, the result was rather predictable.

Treadwell was not a martyr nor was he a hero. He was not brilliant scientist or even a brave explorer. He was a showman, a self-appointed protector of animals who just needed to be left alone to live. Timothy was not just an observer. He began to get involved and his involvement often altered the balance of nature he swore he was there to protect.

Unable to deal with humans, Treadwell tried to make humans out of bears and to some extent, a bear out of a human. Ignoring their biological instincts (i.e., any one of those bears would have used Timothy for dinner had the hunger been strong enough) he believed that they were his friends. But their small and vacant eyes told a very different story.

I find no hero in the Grizzly Man, only a predictable lesson in why separation between man an nature is generally smart. Treadwell not only violated that separation but with great arrogance announced that it was his right to do so. His death was simply a byproduct of the biological drive of a hungry bear and a rather idiotic human.

-AB

[L.A. Martel]

In regards to the link to Charlie's site: (cloudline) Charlie has been charged with exploiting his bear for financial gain.

As a biologist currently involved with a study of the damage that Timothy Treadwell did to the Brown Bear population that he interacted with I have to agree with the general sentiment on this page that Treadwell was anything but a friend and guardian to these bear.
Since his 2003 death, 7 of 12 bear that he interacted with, who were being monitored by a legitimate scientific study, have died. 2 winter starved the winter of 2004, having become so dependant on Treadwell for help gathering the required sustenance they needed they went into hibernation ill prepared and died in their dens.
3, including the bear the Treadwell referred to as "Mr. Chocolate" had to be put down by park rangers, a danger to themselves and visitors thanks to Treadwell removing their natural fear of man. 2 were killed by hunters having wandered outside of the sanctuary, in both cases the hunters reported that the bear walked right up to them.
That is over half of monitored bear known to have interacted with Treadwell dead. What is the legacy of "his" bear that weren't being monitored?
Treadwell, and other ecoterrorists like him, are ill informed individuals who make stupid choices, and individuals who make stupid choices are dangerous, to themselves and others.

[Puppatoons]

I wish I could understand the people who want "enjoy the great outdoors" but want to exterminate everything that composes the "great outdoors" --animals, plants, trees, etc.

[Simon]

What an annoying idiot Timothy Treadwell was. Thank God that bear killed him before the stupid little egotistical twat did anymore damage.

Some idiots probably think this jerkoff's cool. I think he's just an annoying scratchy voiced waste of space. Extra salmon rations for the bear that ate him...

[Ryan28r]

I don't understand how Tim was really protecting the bear from poachers. If I were a poacher, and a hobo jumped out in front of me, I'd probably had shot him on accident. Besides, the most action he took (according to Grizzly Man) was whimper when a fisherman threw a rock at one of his bears. I think it's funny how much he believed he was their protector. Maybe a justification for running away from life?

[Jody]

I just heard of this guy last night and saw his show...I thought this guy is a lunatic.

[william]

I was dissappointed thath the song "Timothy" as recorded by The Buoys, wasn't part of the soundtrack. It would have been THE PERFECT ENDING as the credits rolled.

[alan caldwell]

The visual of a pile of bear shit glistening with fragments of Treadwell's bone and blond hair makes me smile.

[George]

Tim Tredwell, ......... MORON !!

[simon frost]

I have only recently watched this film and can only emphatically agree with the comments by by Martel and Bales. Treadwell was not a scientist or naturalist. His 'study' of bears was for his own self gratification and desire to escape the human world. Perhaps if he had survived his final encounter it may have awakened him to the foolishness of his personal crusade or would he have dismissed it as one rogue bear.

[RJMJ]

I saw this movie just recently and it appears Timothy Treadwell is somewhat mentally unstable.
Not only in the way he speaks, but his rants against those who are unlike him. Treadwell also seems to be an amateur at studying and protecting these bears.
I think anybody with a little bit of education or common sense would know better than to not go into the wilderness unarmed and unwilling to kill to protect oneself.
I found it strange he kept a fox as a pet and didn't understand the working of wildlife and survival of the fittest.
He crossed a line he should have not and is dead because of it. He seemed to think he could morph into a bear and he did what is very common among many people and animals....he gave the animals his feelings and emotions and thought they understood him.
I agree with another comment posted in which a person stated it was a good thing Treadwell was not procreated.
His eco-terrorism caused tremendous damage to the bears, yet he believed he was terminally unique therefore justified in his stupidity. I found his exaggerated tones while speaking (the baby talk and high pitches) to be very annoying and his "F" this and "F" that, those, them, you, me, to be a likeness to his mental health.
I am sure the Alaskan Brown Bears are better of without Treadwell forcing his will upon them, apparently Bear 141 saw Treadwell as a threat too.

[Jack]

The idiot got what he deserved. This guy was obviously SEVERELY mentally ill. Just saw the documentary today.

[James Cupower]

You people are why i have no faith in humanity. "I wanna hear the sound of the bite"? Fuck all of you. He thought he was doing what was right and your the reason he had to. the world is full of horrible people like you who pounce on insecurities. you can't just let him rest in peace instead of calling hima fucking terrorist or a bear hater? he loved bears more than anything and he wouldn't have wanted to die any other way. someone called the bear a hero. it is not a hero nor is it a villain. its an animal. but for you to call it a hero makes me want to punch you in the face. how do think his family feels about all this! fuck you. let him rest in peace.He was a good man. misunderstood but good all the same.

[Hulio]

When I disovered Treadwell via Letterman, I became upset and thought, "gee, the big guys guarding the last frontier have gone metrosexual and are letting the libtards run around in the wild uneaten." I'm glad at least one old wise bear saw the threat too.

[Michael Atkins]

"He was a good man. misunderstood but good all the same." What's there to misunderstand? Most of the posts have been dead on. He was mentally unstable and was a PROVEN threat to the bears, considering many of them died as a direct result of habituating them. He hung around at a salmon stream during a low yield year and died for his willful ignorance. Don't blame other people for remarking on the obvious failings of a fool. His girlfriend, who was afraid of the bears, wanted to leave and they ended up staying an extra week. She died alone, terrified in the dark, eaten alive and that is because of him.

"I suppose killing someone is justifiable if they dare to walk near you? Did Elora Petrasek deserve what she got, too?"

Walking near a person? No. A bear? Fuck yes, death is what you should expect. Elora and her family didn't go looking for bears, they were happened upon by one that had awoken from hibernation and was hungry. That's a rare tragedy, though one that is bound to happen when humans interact with nature. Also the mother's lack of basic interaction / defense against wild animals led to her turning her back after forcing the bear to back down after it's initial attack. Education on safety tips could have given her the time needed for the other family to come to her aid.

Animals, insects, plants, microbes, everything lives off of everything else in some way. Remove bears and their prey will flourish, which can lead to devastating effects for us, far worse than the odd animal attack. Anyone going into woods or mountains should have something to use in their defense against wild animals, as well as foreknowledge of what kinds of predators live in the area they're going to. Also, if there were no predators then there would be even more deer, moose, etc... Happen upon a male in rut and there's every chance it will crush your skull in with a kick or gore your with it's antlers. Nature is scary for lots of good reasons and we should all familiarize ourselves with how to stay safe wherever we are and wherever we go, instead of doing as you wanted and killing off the bears...and the pandas. I really hope that was just a bit of trolling. -_-

Everything James posted was utterly foolish and blind to reason. What a waste of life. I hope you get eaten by a bear. As a hearty meal your life would be of some value then.

P.S. Humans haven't been at the bottom of the food chain for a veeeeeerrry long time. Once we figured out the advantage to wielding spears, nature got a lot less scary. Treadwell took himself down a bunch of rungs by refusing to bring so much as mace to protect himself with. We have free reign over their territories and food supplies for a reason. Animals aren't to blame for human deaths, humans are. That's just basic logic and survival tactics. Not living in the wild doesn't mean we should punish wildlife for the lazy, errantly entitled masses ineptitude at interacting with nature. Google how not to die when you go camping at "wherever" and no one has to be eaten. Primitive man wouldn't shed a tear over someone going unarmed into a place where dangerous animals abounded and dieing. People should always be prepared in whatever situation they put themselves into.