Timothy Treadwell, The ‘Grizzly Man’ Who Was Mauled To Death By Grizzly Bears
X (Twitter)Timothy Treadwell dedicated his life to bears and filmed many of his experiences with them.
Timothy Treadwell, a.k.a. the “Grizzly Man,” really liked grizzly bears. For 13 summers in a row, he camped along Alaska’s Katmai Coast, a region known for its large grizzly bear population. He typically set up his tent in a large, open field called the “Big Green,” which Treadwell referred to as the “Grizzly Sanctuary.”
Treadwell frequently got up close and personal with the bears, often filming his interactions with them on camera. In some cases, he even touched the bears or played with cubs. He claimed that he had developed a sense of trust and “mutual respect” with the creatures, which was what allowed him to live in such close proximity to them.
Of course, not everyone agreed with Treadwell’s assessment. Alaska park rangers and the National Park Service warned Treadwell that his relationship with the grizzly bears would inevitably turn deadly, no matter what he claimed. In the end, they were right.
In October 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were discovered dead at their camp — and they’d been killed by a bear. Treadwell’s mangled head, part of his spine, his right forearm, and his hand were found a short distance from the campsite. Huguenard’s remains were found partially buried under a mound of twigs and dirt next to their shredded tents.
To make matters worse, when park rangers tried to retrieve the corpses, bears attempted to attack them. The rangers ultimately had to kill the animals in self-defense. A necropsy of the larger of the two bears revealed human body parts inside its abdomen, confirming fears that the creatures had eaten Treadwell and Huguenard.
They were the first known bear-inflicted deaths in the park’s 85-year history.
