Random Strange Life And Tragic Death Of Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell (11 items)

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  (#1) The Bear Ripped Treadwill And His Girlfriend Apart

  On October 6, 2003, pilot Willy Fulton flew in to the park to pick up Treadwell and Huguenard and transport them out of the park. But he knew something was off when they didn't show up, and when he tried to contact them he didn't hear a response. After seeing a bear on top of what looked like human remains, he contacted National Park Services. When the rangers reached the camp, Fulton's worst fears were confirmed. In front of the tent, they found Amie Huguenard's fingers and arm sticking out of a dirt mound. Further off in the campsite's vicinity, Treadwell's severed head and arm were discovered.
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  (#2) The Audio From Their Final Moments During The Bear Attack Was Captured On Treadwell's Camera

  Audio exists of the final moments of Treadwell's life, and it's chilling. Captured on Treadwell's camera which had apparently been turned on but dropped in the dirt, screams and cries are heard as his girlfriend yells at him to play dead. Apparently, he had stepped out of the tent to confront the bear that wondered into his camp. Moments later, Amie Huguenard emerged and saw that he was being mauled. The bear retreated but only momentarily. Treadwell, seeing that playing dead wasn't working, begged her to “hit the bear!” Sadly, it didn't take long for him to realize that his fate was sealed. In his final moments, he pleaded with Amie to flea.
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  (#3) Body Parts And Pieces Of Clothing Were Found In The 28-Year-Old Bear's Stomach

  After park authorities cleaned up the horrific murder scene, four garbage bags of body parts were removed. But two days later, after two bears were shot and killed by park officials, clothing and body parts were found in the stomach of one of the bears. It was a 28-year-old brown male bear that weighed close to 1,000 pounds. After shooting and leaving it for several days, the carcass was almost completely consumed by other bears. It had been the first bear attack since the park was declared 85 years prior.
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  (#4) He Had Set Up Camp Right In The Middle Of The Grizzly Maze, A Dangerous Path

  Out of the 13 summers that Treadwell spent with the bears, six of them were devoted to filmmaking. Based on his footage, it's remarkable that he survived for as long as he did. He often snuck up to bears, sometimes crawling on all fours, to grab a shot. But that's not where the Grizzly Man's advances ended; there were times where he attempted to touch bears, both cubs and adults. 

  What made matters even worse was that Treadwell chose to set up camp in “the grizzly maze," right in the middle of a bear path. So, bears passing through the area had to cross his tent or the lake nearby. Larry Van Daele, a biologist from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said that “ A person could not have designed a more dangerous location to set up a camp.''
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  (#5) Amie Huguenard Was A Fan Who Became His Lover

  Amie Huguenard first became acquainted with the Grizzly Man through his book. Her admiration turned to love, and eventually she left her home in Colorado to live with him in Malibu. For three years, Huguenard spent part of her summers in Alaska with Treadwell. But she didn't share the same affinity for bears. In his journal, Treadwell wrote that she was afraid of them and thought he was “hell-bent on destruction.” Furthermore, she planned to leave him once they got back to California.
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  (#6) Treadwell Adopted Alter Egos, Pretending He Was British And Australian

  The Grizzly Man began his reinvention by changing his legal name to Timothy Treadwell (a surname from his mother's ancestors). Despite being born Timothy Dexter, Treadwell was the name he used when he went on auditions in Hollywood. But he often slipped into character in his private life as well. At times, he spoke in a British Cockney accent, crafting the backstory that he was raised in an orphanage.

  Later, he dropped the Cockney accent in favor of an Australian one. Peter Dixon, a documentary filmmaker who worked with Treadwell, heard that the Grizzly Man had lived in Australia during his youth. Yet as far as Tradwell's parents knew, he had never been there.
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  (#7) He Changed His Name And Moved To California After Dropping Out Of College

  Timothy Treadwell began life as Timothy Dexter in 1957 on Long Island. He excelled at swimming and attended Bradley University on an athletic scholarship. According to university officials, he set a three-meter springboard record, but for reasons unknown to them, he quit the team after two years. Treadwell's father relays a different story; after injuring his back, the future Grizzly Man lost his scholarship and dropped out of school.

  When he returned to New York, he fell into a downward spiral that resulted in an arrest on DUI charges. Needing a fresh start, he decided to move to California. The one piece of home he took with him was his favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Goodbear. He would hold onto this childhood treasure for the rest of his life.
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  (#8) He Fell Apart After Losing Out To Woody Harrelson For A Part On "Cheers"

  Treadwell's acting career received some hope in the form of an audition for Woody Boyd on Cheers. Allegedly, he came in second to Woody Harrelson, but the disappointment was too much for him bear. He fell into a cycle of drug abuse, but had a firm reality check when he survived an overdose on heroine and cocaine. 

  Once he recovered, he headed to the wilderness of Alaska. There, he came face-to-face with grizzlies for the first time. This was moment that spurred him to get sober and pursue his purpose in life: protecting the bears.
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  (#9) Treadwell Had Extended His Stay In The Park Which May Have Been His Undoing

  Treadwell extended his stay by a week in order to find one of his favorite bears, but tragically, that might have been his undoing. In early October, the supply of salmon starts to run low. Factor in the low berry yields of 2003 mixed with competition from younger males, and the desperation of the old bear that attacked the Grizzly Man is perhaps more understandable.

  But certainly, youth is no guarantee of survival either, and that goes for bears, too. The younger bear that stalked rangers leaving the campsite was cannibalized before scientists could determine if it played a role in the deaths of Treadwell and Huguenard.
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  (#10) Did Treadwell Actually Care About Protecting The Bears?

  Treadwell was known to be hostile to people he viewed as “intruders." Just like a bear, he would run when spotted someone and peer at the invaders from the cover of bushes. One of his goals was to educate people on bears; however, he tried to sabotage companies attempting to make educational documentaries by scaring off the bears. This could all be interpreted as an extension of his desire to serve as their protector. Although, with Katmai National Park being the world's largest bear protection area, his logic was somewhat faulty. 
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  (#11) The Grizzly Man Appeared On Letterman And Had Celebrity Supporters

  The Grizzly Man never realized his dream of being an A-list actor, but he did achieve a certain level of celebrity. In promotion of his book Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska, he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. He also attracted the attention of notable stars through Grizzly People–a nonprofit he founded that was dedicated to educating the public, particularly children, about bears. Leonardo DiCaprio, Gisele Bundchen, and Pierce Brosnan are among the list of famous faces who either donated to Grizzly People or attended one of their fundraisers.

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