[johnwayne]

I never read this guys book but I found a review which indicates this guy appeared to truly have a death wish.

"On the surface, Timothy Treadwells book "Among Grizzlies" is a book about one of my favorite subjects: bears. This is why I read the book from start to finish. But it isnt long after one begins the book before one realizes that just beneath the surface this is actually a book about a man with a death wish and all the talk about bears (which can make for an adequate "bear read", mind you) is really a series of descriptions of this sad individuals numerous attempts to force a horrible death upon himself."

http://www.outdoorshub.com/Among_Grizzlies_Living_With_Wild_Bears_in_Alaska_0345426053.html

[Ronin]

Did they get eaten or were they just mauled? I can't tell from the different stories floating around.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

What a horrible change in circumstances, and a devastating way to die.

[Major_Risktaker]

To bad for the campers. Should have had a L.A.R. Grizzly or something. When in the wild, city or country don't leave home without one of deese.

Daa bears were killed anyway. Bad week for people vs. wild animals this week.

[PLMerite]

I guess the audio-only nature of the tape disqualifies it for "America's Funniest Home Videos."

[Sergio]

And the gene pool gets chlorinated . . .

[Calvin Locke]

...both of Malibu, Calif.,

I wonder if they voted by absentee ballot for Gray?

[lawdude]

Can we get Sean Penn and Janenne Garofolo for the movie (on location)?

[Joe Hadenuf]

Forget the audio tape, lets see the video tape of the guy that played with tigers on stage and made um do tricks...

[nmh]

I don't know when these utopians will acknowledge reality. THESE ARE WILD ANIMALS who WILL turn on you. It's just a matter of time. Guess they confirmed that fact.

[SBprone]

This is tragic. Really tragic. I really mean it!

So why does it make me so giddy? I guess its just the anticipation of all the great jokes that will come out of this. Treadwell was quite a guy. He entertained animal lovers while he lived and now that he's dead he's entertaining animal shooters and animal eaters. How many of us will be of so much service to our fellow human beings?

I wish him the best, wherever he's gone.

[Shooter 2.5]

Jeff Cooper told a story about a guy in Africa who disappeared. After a day of searching they found his jeep, a shoe and a movie camera set up on a tripod.

After searching for several more days, the authorities mailed the belongings back to the relatives. They were the ones who developed the film.

On the film, there was a lion pride and our hero walking toward the lions and waving back at the camera. He walked up to the nearest lion and swatted it on it's rump.

Supposedly, there was ample film to continue recording what happened next.

[Richard Kimball]

Well, I haven't read the second page of comments yet, but I'm waiting to see the movie. I figure they'll call it "The Bear Witch Project."

My apologies if this pun has been posted. I thought he made his own best pun with starting the grizzly people group.

[XHogPilot]

Treadwell, producer of the cult movie "Among Grizzlies: Dining With Wild Bears in Alaska."

[Reagan79]

They're both screaming. She's telling him to play dead, then it changes to fighting back. He asks her to hit the bear,"

Sounds like things got a little kinky there at the end.

This somehow reminds me of that animal rights lady who was trampled by the bull in Spain.

[weegee]

There is an interesting (and funny) Canadian documentary about a man who wanted to have a second encounter with a grizzly bear after he encountered one in the wild.

He spends much of the movie designing (and retooling) a suit of armor that will survive a grizzly mauling.

He has a dream . . . and it has six-inch claws.

Meet Troy James Hurtubise, a self-styled "close-quarter bear researcher," who's obsessed with going face-to-face with Canada's most deadly land mammal, the grizzly bear. Troy is the creator of what he hopes is a "grizzly-proof" suit of armour -- an extraordinary fusion of high-tech materials and homespun ingenuity -- and of his own hybrid mythology that is part Hollywood, part Canadian shield. His quest takes audiences into a world both compelling and disturbing, full of contradiction, humour and fantastical vision.

Join Troy as he tests his armour and courage, in stunts that are both hair-raising and hilarious. Journey with this modern-day Don Quixote and his band of men, as they travel from the donut shops and biker bars of North Bay to the mythic Rocky Mountains, for a date with destiny.

Directed by Peter Lynch and produced by Michael Allder, Project Grizzly explores the territory between documentary and drama, where the dividing line between fact and imagination is as thin as a knife edge. In this twisted nature film, it's man, not bears, who come under the closest scrutiny.

Robo-Bear in the Rockies... Clint Eastwood meets Jacques Cousteau... Project Grizzly is a film about overcoming insurmountable odds, leaving an imprint, creating your own legends.

So suit up -- and join the quest

THE SUIT

Name:
Ursus Mark VI

Development Time:
Seven years

Total Cost:
$150,000

Materials:
Fireproof rubber exterior (from Minnesota)
Titanium outer plates (from Hamilton, Ont.)
Suit joints made of chain mail (from France)
Tek plastic inner shell (from Japan)
Inner layer of air bags

Height:
2.18 metres (7 ft. 2 in.), with head-top camera attachment

Weight:
66.68 kilograms (147 lbs.)

Headpiece:
Two-chamber headpiece. Inner helmet: specially-modified Shoei motorcycle helmet. Outer chamber: aluminum/titanium alloy shell. Dimensions: approx. 60 centimetres (2 ft.) deep; 45 centimetres (1 ft. 6 in.) wide.

Cooling System:
Battery-powered twin-fan ventilation system draws cool air into helmet and vents warm air.

Radio System:
Voice-activited two-way radio.

Viewing System:
Helmet-mounted miniature camera with wide-angle viewscreen.

Black Box:
Voice-activated recording device located on the rear-right side of head piece, to record bear sounds or, in the event of a catastrophic failure of the Ursus Mark VI, last words.

Defensive System:
Trigger finger-activated "blaster can" on right arm, capable of spraying a 38 centimetre (15 in.) diameter cone of bear repellant for a distance of 4.6 metres (15 ft.), for a duration of 7 seconds.

Testing On Suit:
Truck: 18 collisions with a three-tonne truck travelling at 50 kilometres an hour (30 m.p.h)
Rifle: Shot at with 12 gauge shotgun, using "Sabot" slugs
Arrows: Armour-piercing arrows, fired from 45 kilogram (100 lb.) bow
Tree Trunk: Two collisions with a 136 kilgram (300 lb.) tree from a height of 9 metres (30 ft.)
Bikers: Assault by three bikers -- the largest, 2.05 metres (6 ft. 9 in.) tall, weighing 175 kilograms (385 lbs.). Biker armaments: splitting ax, planks, baseball bat.
Escarpment: Jumped off escarpment, falling over 15.25 metres (over 150 ft.).

Bite Bar:
Pressure-sensitive strip located on right arm, to measure the biting power of a grizzly.

[SevenDaysInMay]

NO FEMALE NEAR OR DURING MENSTRUATION SHOULD BE AROUND BEARS!

Even lil' blackies in the Smokies. Sick, injured, and starving are very dangerous.

I don't know what triggered this fatal attack, but people are bear food. Women remind bears of the fact.

This girlfriend lost her life joining this unwise pursuit of breath close videos.

Aside from their Malibu home town, what ever happened to common sense?

[Sabertooth]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The graphic sounds of a fatal bear attack were recorded, Alaska state troopers discovered Wednesday while reviewing a tape recovered near the bodies of a wildlife author and his girlfriend.

Trooper Chris Hill said Timothy Treadwell may have been wearing a wireless microphone likely activated when he was attacked by the brown bear at Katmai National Park and Preserve. The videotape has audio only; the screen remains blank for the three-minute recording.

"They're both screaming. She's telling him to play dead, then it changes to fighting back. He asks her to hit the bear," Hill said. "There's so much noise going on. I don't know what's him and what might be an animal."

Coming soon...

"The Bear Munch Project"

[Bernard Marx]

Judging from the story at the following link, I'd call this a case of "manslaughter by Park Service" as well as "suicide by liberal idiot." The Service has increasingly become a tax-paid tool of the wacko environmental movement.

See: http://www.alaska.com/akcom/western/visit_travel/story/767020p-819757c.html

It's clear from the article the guy had a death wish. The Park Service allowed him to indulge it, hoping for publicity about bears. IMO, the writer of this article has more good sense than both Treadwell and the Park Service combined. Any publicity Treadwell generated about bears was clearly dangerous to both the public and the bears. The mission of the Park Service is to protect both. This is just another case of liberal lunacy in government guise.

[jimbo123]

Initial numbers from the Bear Matrix show that out of all injuries incurred in bear-human attacks, 25 percent are minor, 25 percent are moderate, 25 percent are severe and 25 percent are fatal.


Bear Attacks!

by Christopher Batin

Outdoor Life

A new study shows why hunters are at greatest risk.

What is the Bear Matrix? It’s a world of horrific maulings, canine teeth gnawing on scalps, claws ripping into flesh and people being eaten. No, this isn’t a nightmare—it’s a computer database compiling info on more than 500 bear attacks that have occurred in Alaska since the early 1900s.

The gatekeeper of this data is U.S. Geological Survey research biologist Tom Smith. Smith is one of the few people who can analyze the patterns contained within the database, and his research shows that bear attacks are anything but random events. Brush aside the blood and gore of these encounters and you can probe the age-old mystery that has chilled the marrow of many outdoorsmen: Why do bears attack?

ATTACK TRIGGERS
Three joggers decided to drive a short distance outside Anchorage and conduct a practice run down the McHugh Creek Trail in the Chugach Mountains. After climbing up a mountain, the joggers spread out and slogged down the trail, focused on making each step count. In their path was a dense alder patch with a brown bear on a moose kill. The surprised bear attacked and instantly killed the first jogger. The second ran into the fray and was also mortally wounded. The third, hearing the commotion and realizing it was a bear attack, retreated up the trail, climbed a small tree and stayed there until some hikers approached.

“Surprise is the biggest factor in triggering a bear attack,” says Smith. “When first startled, a brown bear is just trying to defend itself.”

Analyzing the story, Smith said the joggers made four major mistakes. “They were running in bear country. They were not close together. They carried no deterrents and made no noise. All the elements came together at the right time to create an attack. If they had been walking together, making noise and carrying pepper spray, the mauling would likely never have happened.”

Hunters Most Susceptible
The database shows that of the different types of outdoorsmen who use the Alaska wilderness, hunters are the most susceptible to bear attack.

“Hunters typically aren’t making any noise, and they sleuth around while wearing camo,” Smith says. “Maybe they’re blowing a predator call—the database confirms bears sometimes approach people who use predator calls.” Many encounters take place at a downed animal, gut pile or bear-killed or scavenged carcass. Yet according to Smith, carcass defense is often misunderstood.

“Take your dog’s food while it is eating, and chances are he’ll bite you. You can do anything to the animal at any other time with no similarly aggressive response. Eliminate walking up on a bear and surprising it over a carcass, and you reduce the possibility of an attack by fifty percent.”

Browns Most Dangerous
Alaska has a population of about 7,500 polar bears, 35,000 brown bears and 110,000 black bears—yet brown bears account for more than 86 percent of all bear conflicts in the state. The average brown bear encounter is 13 times more dangerous than the average polar bear encounter and 22 times more dangerous than the average black bear encounter. Smith says this disparity is due to many factors. Black bears are relatively timid compared to browns and grizzlies, and polar bear habitat is restricted to remote regions with few people around. Humans interact more with brown bears on common-use land (such as berry patches, fishing streams and hunting areas) than with other species.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
The matrix shows that bear attacks are seasonal in nature. Far more attacks occur in fall, during hunting season, than in spring. Summer berry season is another peak time for human-bear encounters. The time of day can also play a role in whether an attack happens. You stand a far greater chance of having an encounter by taking a nighttime walk adjacent to a salmon stream than you will by making noise along that same stream during the daytime.

AVOIDING ATTACKS
Joe Want had journeyed far from camp and was heading back before nightfall. He could barely see the branches sticking out along the bear trail he was following. The trail was quiet as he hurried along, using what was left of the twilight, when he surprised a brown bear resting nearby. Startled by the quickly approaching form in the low light of dusk, the bear charged. Joe dropped down into a tussock, face first. The bear tore up his pack frame, which had slid over the back of his neck, and swatted at his arms and shoulders. Joe remained still as the bear vented its surprise and left. Injured, Joe made his way back to camp, thankful to be alive.

Trekking in Bear Country
Had Want been making noise or wearing the headlamp that was stashed away in his backpack, or had he slowed his pace a bit, chances are this incident could have been avoided.

Even during the day, don’t trek through bear country mindlessly while zoning out under your CD player’s headphones. Stay alert and walk ridges and trails that afford good views of the surrounding environment. Whenever possible, walk alpine ridges rather than brushy gullies and riverbanks. Use extra caution when walking through feeding areas, such as salmon streams and berry patches.

Setting Up Camp
How you set up your camp can make the difference between a sound night’s sleep and having your dreams interrupted by a bold bear.

“At least three-fourths or more of the bears that enter camps do so from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., the time when people are most quiet and sound asleep,” he says. “I sleep well at night because I set up an electric fence around my camp.”

Electricity is an underrated bear deterrent, according to Smith. But you don’t have to set up a high-powered (and expensive) fence charger designed for cattle. Instead, visit a local home improvement store and buy a $39 fence charger that runs on two “D” batteries.

Strength in Numbers
Bears don’t like seeing more than one person. Smith says you can deter attacks by hunting or hiking close together. Moving over regular terrain you can walk 10 to 20 feet apart, but when you get into the thickets, it’s time to group up. That alone will work. Smith has no record of a bear that has charged and attacked two or more people standing their ground. “As soon as you split up, you stack the odds against you,” he said.

FIGHTING BACK
The biologists darted the grizzly from the helicopter, then landed. Approaching the bear to take blood samples, they sensed something wasn’t right. The bear moved, and moved again. Suddenly, from just 19 feet away, the bear charged the two researchers.

One biologist pulled a .44 and fired four shots at the bear, which quickly beelined for the brush. The pair ran for the safety of the helicopter cab. From the air, they noticed the bear still wandering around, so they darted it again. Upon examining the bear, they found that even at close range not a single bullet had hit the bear.

Do Sprays and Guns Help?
When it comes to arguing about the effectiveness of bear sprays vs. firearms as deterrents in bear attacks, both sides have valid points to make. The truth is that people don’t shoot particularly well under stressful situations like a bear attack, as illustrated by the above example. Sprays can also fail spectacularly as deterrents, especially when the canister is stashed in a backpack (as often happens) or if the wind is blowing the wrong way. But Smith says one thing is certain. Having a deterrent handy is much better than facing a menacing bear with nothing but your fists. For one, the spray or firearm gives you something to do other than run, which is the wrong response to an encounter.

“Just as backing away shows fear, standing confidently means something to a bear,” Smith says. “It’s very difficult to stand down a menacingly curious bear, but no matter what, it is imperative that people not back away.”

When All Else Fails
If you have sprayed or shot at a brown bear and it attacks, do not lie down. Instead, Smith says, turn your back to the bear and let it knock you down. Once you are knocked down by a brown bear, assume a defensive position by lying face down with your hands interlaced over your neck to protect it. Spread your legs to help keep you face down during the attack. Be still. Remember, the vast majority of brown bear attacks are defensive—the bear will nip, bite and swat for a bit and then move on. If the attack is prolonged—going on for minutes, perhaps—it is time to fight back.

Black bears are a different matter. “The majority of black bear attacks appear predatory,” Smith says. “You should always fight back.”

LESSONS LEARNED
Smith says that his study shows that a large percentage of bear-human conflicts are avoidable if a few simple rules are followed.


Hike, hunt and fish in groups of two or more, keeping close in areas with limited visibility.
Make noise when appropriate, such as when entering a thicket near a salmon stream.
Always have a deterrent or two handy for dealing with a bear (e.g., pepper spray, flares and firearms). The database shows that in most conflicts bears were only defending themselves when surprised, and that their goal was to neutralize the threat and move on. Bears aren’t “out to get” anyone. Ultimately, the Bear Matrix shows that people and bears pretty much want the same thing: to be left alone to do their own thing, and not be surprised in the wild.