RIP (and happy birthday) Timothy Treadwell.

[George Ford]

http://en.wikipedia....mothy_Treadwell

He loved bears and went to live with them as he said he felt more comfortable with them rather then with other humans. He spent 13 summers living with the wild creatures and was living with a female friend in the Katmai National Park when he stayed much late then he normally would do. It was early October and the 'good' bears had left the area, only the bears that normally live further in land and have less contact (if any) with humans came looking for food. Well you can guess the rest.

There is a documentary called Grizzly Man that is a great watch and you see some of Timothy's film footage and I can tell you it makes those giant bears look terrifying to me. It would have been his birthday today had he not have been killed.

Anyway RIP Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard.

[rodentraiser]

It's absolutely fascinating what you can observe with animals when you live cheek to jowl with them. What I'm wondering, was he able to document any behavior that was new to researchers?

[msmike1]

While I don't wish death on anyone, is it really any surprise what happened? I don't care who you are, or what you think you are, wild animals are just that; wild. Timothy was not some bear whisperer. The bears tolerated him, and that is about the extent of it. Timothy was also feeding some of the animals to make it appear like they just accepted him which is a horrible idea. I have no doubt that he loved the animals he was around, but in the end his carelessness, and irresponsibility caused his death, and the death of his girlfriend. Unfortunate and sad.

Mike

[rodentraiser]

I think he was on the right track with what he was doing, but he needed to have a more professional outlook on it. He should definitely have taken some precautions, like having a loaded weapon with him and always carrying bear spray. Even when I was in the middle of all my raccoons and I thought I knew them well, I always kept a lookout for trouble. There are a lot of people that take the risks that TImothy Treadwell took with wild animals all the time. Whale trainers, people working with big cats and wolves, and people who work with chimps. You can get killed by a horse if you aren't careful. Any animal that is bigger than you and outweighs you has the potential to take your life, intentionally or not.