Bear activist killed by Alaska grizzly

ASSOCIATED PRESS | 08 Oct 03

[RussianConservative]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 8 — A self-taught bear enthusiast who once called Alaska’s brown bears harmless was one of two people fatally mauled in a bear attack in the Katmai National Park and Preserve. THE BODIES OF Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were found Monday at their campsite when a pilot arrived who was supposed to take them to Kodiak, state troopers said Tuesday. Treadwell, co-author of “Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska,” spent more than a dozen summers living alone with and videotaping Katmai bears. Information on Huguenard was not immediately available. The Andrew Airways pilot contacted troopers in Kodiak and the National Park Service after he saw a brown bear, possibly on top of a body, at the camp near Kaflia Bay. Park rangers encountered a large, aggressive male brown bear within minutes of arriving. Ranger Joel Ellis said two officers stood by with shotguns as he fired 11 times with a semi-automatic handgun before the animal fell, 12 feet away. “That was cutting it thin,” said Ellis, the lead investigator. “I didn’t take the time to count how many times it was hit.” The victims’ remains and camping equipment were flown Monday to Kodiak. Ellis said investigators hope to glean some information from video and still cameras. As the plane was being loaded, another aggressive bear approached and was killed by rangers and troopers. The bear was younger, possibly a 3-year-old, according to Bruce Bartley of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The victims’ bodies were flown to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy. Dean Andrew, owner of Andrew Airways, said the pilot was too upset to comment. The company had been flying Treadwell to Katmai for 13 years and Huguenard for the last couple of years. Andrew said Treadwell was an experienced outdoorsman.

CONFIDENCE AROUND BEARS Treadwell was known for his confidence around bears. He often touched them, and gave them names. Once he was filmed crawling along the ground singing as he approached a sow and two cubs. Over the years, Park Service officials, biologists and others expressed concern about his safety and the message he was sending. Advertisement

“At best he’s misguided,” Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai, 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.” That same year Treadwell was a guest on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” describing Alaska brown bears as mostly harmless “party animals.” In his book, Treadwell said he decided to devote himself to saving grizzlies after a drug overdose, followed by several close calls with brown bears in early trips to Alaska. He said those experiences inspired him to give up drugs, study bears and establish a nonprofit bear-appreciation group, called Grizzly People. Grizzly and brown bears are the same species, but “brown” is used to describe bears in coastal areas and “grizzly” for bears in the interior. The deaths were the first known bear killings in the 4.7-million-acre park on the Alaska Peninsula.

[ableChair]

Sounds like the poor guy was actually mentally ill. Some of these animal 'advocates' don't understand what "wild" means. Basically, stay away from them, but if you must go in their country, carry an adequately sized firearm and use it only as a last-ditch defense. I do a lot of backpacking in the Rockies and always carry a .44 Magnum revolver just for that purpose. I'll try everything else to avert an attack before shooting, but the sidearm is just common sense.

[headsonpikes]

The bear left the campsite cleaner than he found it.

LOL! They'd be great campers if you could just get the cheap b*stards to pay!

[Darksheare]

"Timothy Treadwell"
I guess he didn't Tread Well after all...

[newgeezer]

Yes, and one of my favorite church hymns is about a visually-challenged bear named "Gladly."

"Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear"

[OESY]

My wife and I had a friend who rolled down her window and tried to pat a bear at a safari park in Venezuela. The bear saw it as "food delivery" and stripped off a helping of skin and muscle starting at the shoulder. Her husband drove her to a hospital outside Caracas where she was wheeled into the emergency operating room. A few minutes later the doctors returned to tell him there was nothing they could do. The husband, a somewhat hot-tempered Italian financier, made it clear that if that was the case, their lives were worth nothing. So, the doctors went back in and saved her. We refer to that as the Latin American Option: Do you love your wife? Do you want to keep her? Unfortunately, they used pigskin grafts and she has these uncontrollable urges to roll in mud when she sees it. (OK, I made up the last part, but the rest is true.)

[strela]

The bear left the campsite cleaner than he found it.

Take only greenies. Leave only doo-doo.

[Shermy]

Has this story been posted today? Lots of details.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/4110831p-4127072c.html

[OESY]

Forget the actual attack. Was there any groping, leering, inappropriate comments or, worse, hateful speech?

[stands2reason]

LOL!!!

[Frapster]

This is why I never believed Tarzan was real. I could never imagine how a man could stand up to the strength of a huge gorilla and gain acceptance. /kidding

[Some hope remaining.]

Quote from that article:

"I told him to be much more cautious ... because every time a bear kills somebody, there is a big increase in bearanoia and bears get killed,'' Miller said. "I thought that would be a way of getting to him, and his response was 'I would be honored to end up in bear scat.' ''

I guess he's been honored.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang.

Following up on:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/996821/posts

[Atlas Sneezed]

May we have a link to the story?

[Bigg Red]

Treadwell's new book: 'Inside Grizzlies'.

***
LOL!

[Bigg Red]

Another Darwin nominee.

[Dan from Michigan]

I'm suprised this doesn't happen more often. Up in the UP of Michigan, there were some cityfolk that fed the black bears up there. The bears followed them to their car and threw a fit when there was no more food....by jumping on the car.

[OESY]

"Drive, George, Drive! This one's got a coat hanger!"

[Pagey]

I'm just wondering which one he ate first, Timothy or Amie. They certainly belong in the all-time top 25 in the Darwin Award category.

[OESY]

Now I would like to introduce my lieutenant governor to you in the press. His name is Cruz.

[blackie]

You got it Geezer ~ congratulations! :-/