Free Republic

Russian Bear Expert Is Killed in the Wild - Well-known researcher was apparently mauled by one of the giant animals he loved.By Kim Murphy, Times Staff Writer MOSCOW — Vitaly Nikolayenko, one of Russia's best-known bear researchers and a man who spent 25 years living with the enormous brown bears of the wild Kamchatka Peninsula, has been found dead in an apparent bear mauling, authorities said Tuesday. The body of Nikolayenko, whose lonely journeys allowed him to compile one of the most exhaustive documentaries on the 9-foot-tall cousins of the North American grizzly, was found at a lake near his...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 8 — A self-taught bear enthusiast who once called Alaska’s brown bears harmless was one of two people fatally mauled in a bear attack in the Katmai National Park and Preserve. THE BODIES OF Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were found Monday at their campsite when a pilot arrived who was supposed to take them to Kodiak, state troopers said Tuesday. Treadwell, co-author of “Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska,” spent more than a dozen summers living alone with and videotaping Katmai bears. Information on Huguenard was not...

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...

A bear-lover who would creep up to grizzlies in the wild chanting "I love you" to prove that they posed no danger has been killed by them. What remained of Timothy Treadwell, 46 - author, filmmaker and celebrity for his unorthodox views on the animals - was recovered from the Katmai National Park in Alaska this week. His bear attacker had buried part of him in a so-called food cache. "This is unfortunate, but I'm not surprised," said Deb Liggett, the park's superintendent. "It really wasn't a matter of if, it was just a matter of when." Mr Treadwell's girlfriend,...

A California author and filmmaker who became famous for trekking to Alaska's remote Katmai coast to commune with brown bears has fallen victim to the teeth and claws of the wild animals he loved. ...The fearless former drug addict from Malibu, Calif. -- who routinely eased up close to bears to chant "I love you'' in a high-pitched, sing-song voice --

KING SALMON, Alaska - Two people were killed in an apparent bear attack near Kaflia Bay in Katmai National Park on the Alaska Peninsula, Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday. The bodies were found Monday when a pilot with Andrew Airways arrived to pick up the man and woman and take them to Kodiak, troopers said. The pilot saw a bear, possibly on top of a body, in the camp and contacted the National Park Service in King Salmon and state troopers in Kodiak. Park rangers encountered an aggressive bear when they arrived at the campsite and killed it. Investigators then...