[web_stories title="false" excerpt="false" author="false" date="false" archive_link="true" archive_link_label="" circle_size="150" sharp_corners="false" image_alignment="left" number_of_columns="1" number_of_stories="5" order="DESC" orderby="post_title" view="circles" /]
Timothy Treadwell was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and creator of Grizzly People. He spent 13 summers with grizzlies/brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska. On October 5, 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed and almost completely eaten by “The Machine,” a 28-year-old male bear whose stomach included human remains and clothing. Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man chronicles Treadwell’s life, work, and death.
Timothy Treadwell Early Education
Val and Carol Dexter had five children, including Treadwell. Connetquot High School’s star diver. He maintained a pet squirrel named Willie. In Grizzly Man (2005), his parents state he was unremarkable until college. He said he was an Australian-born British orphan. His father said Timothy “spiraled down” after losing Woody Boyd on Cheers to Woody Harrelson. In 1987, he legally changed his surname from Dexter to Treadwell, his mother’s family name.
A close friend urged Treadwell to fly to Alaska to watch bears. After his first meeting with a wild bear, he felt he’d found his vocation and that his fate was tied to the bears. Treadwell studied bears for 13 summers before being killed. His goal to preserve bears began in the late 1980s after a near-fatal heroin overdose, according to his book. In his book, he believes that his drug addiction stemmed from his drunkenness and credits bears for his rehabilitation.
Treadwell spent the beginning of each season camped on the “Big Green” in Hallo Bay, Katmai Coast. “Grizzly Sanctuary” was his nickname. Treadwell was known for stroking and playing with bear cubs. In his book, he stated he was always attentive to bears and earned mutual trust and respect. He named the bears he met and saw many of them each summer, so he claimed to have a relationship with them.
Tom Smith, a research ecologist with the USGS Alaska Science Center, disagreed “…broke every park law regarding bear distance, animal harassment, and natural processes. His personal mission conflicted with the park service immediately. Multiple warnings were issued.” “It’s awful, but not unpredictable,” Smith said of Treadwell’s death.
In late July, he moved to Kaflia Bay and camped in the “Grizzly Maze” This area intersected bear pathways, increasing the possibility of seeing wild bears. Treadwell filmed 100 hours of video (part of which was utilized in Grizzly Man) and took many photos.
Timothy Treadwell Death
Treadwell and his partner, medical assistant Amie Huguenard (born Oct. 23, 1965, in Buffalo, NY), visited Katmai National Park in October 2003. Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man indicates that Huguenard frightened bears and was uncomfortable with them. Her final journals showed she wanted to leave Katmai. Treadwell camped on an autumn salmon stream where bears feed. Treadwell visited the park later than usual when bears try to accumulate fat before winter. Fall food shortages made the bears more violent than usual.
Treadwell and Huguenard were to leave the park at their customary time and had returned to Kodiak on September 26 to stow their belongings and catch a trip to California. Treadwell and Huguenard returned to their tent on September 29 for an extra week after arguing with the airline ticketer about the price of changing his return ticket.
Treadwell wanted to find a beloved female brown bear. He loathed contemporary civilization and felt happier in nature with bears than in towns with people. Treadwell’s summer bears had already hibernated, and bears from other parts of the park were moving in. Treadwell’s last clip shows grizzlies diving repeatedly for dead salmon. Treadwell said he wasn’t comfortable with that bear. Herzog wonders if Treadwell filmed the bear that killed him.
Please visit our website unitedfact.com.
