GrizzlyMan the Movie

[DenaliDemocrat]

I just got done watching this movie with my kids. It is about Timmothy Treadwell and the bears at Katmai National Wildlife Refuge. I live in Alaska, and bears are a yearly occurence. We have them in our yard, I see them when we fish, camp, hike, whatever...

I hope that any and all who watch this video understand what they are truly watching. Treadwell was no savior of the bear, it is a well known fact that the bears of Katmai are protected, and not poached. The remoteness of the area nd its popularity as a tourist attraction keep them rather safe. The Feds and State biologist keep track of the population very well and will corroborate this.

No, the bears did not need Treadwell. Treadwell needed the bears. This is not a story about a man saving bears, this is a story about a man committing suicide. Treadwell just did it by brown bear as oppossed to crack cocain, a .357 Magnum, or cheap booze.

He did not respect these bears. He invaded their space and took chances that should never be taken with a bear. It is a testament to these giants that they tolerated his insolence for so long. The odds finally caught up with him, and sadly TWO bears were killed (they do not say this in the movie).

Also remember that everyone who visits Katmai now is in greater danger for Treadwell having acclimated these bears to humans. There is now a greater chance for people to get hurt and bears to get killed.

This is an excellent movie, but do not be fooled, Treadwell was very selfish with his motives. It shows some amazing Alaskan landscapes, and some of our animals at their best. Enjoy it.

[skooooo]

1. Haven't seen the movie yet, but...

...a friend has lent me the DVD. The guy had no business trying to make the bears look friendly and civilized. Just a few weeks ago, I saw some guy on Animal Planet doing the same thing with lions - repeatedly getting close to them and "hanging out." Can you believe that they would even show that on TV?

[hlthe2b]

2. I saw this documentary a week ago... I think it gets your points

across very effectively. Seeing it is worth it because of some incredible bear footage and the thought provoking story of Tim Treadwell-- a very lost soul in need of a cause (and martyrdom)

But, I believe Treadwell's motives to be less overtly selfish, than seriously deluded.. While I think he was seriously in denial and totally off base in his perceptions, he had long since convinced himself that he was doing something noble. Sort of like what they say about altruism.... that in reality there is always a personal (selfish) motivation--(a concept I've always had a bit of a problem with).

Here, the bears presented a "cause"--misplaced though it was--that Treadwell could take as his own. That he died for it was, in a way, his ultimate outcome, since it would cement his "dedication."

[roguevalley]

4. Treadwell needed to make himself meaningful and he chose the

wrong vehicle. There are shots of bears looking straight at the camera that make my hair stand on end. It was only a matter of time. Unless you have ever come face to face with these guys, you cannot understand the menace they project with their majesty. You are spot on in your comments. Poor Tim. He wanted something and didn't get it.

[hlthe2b]

7. Yes... . Grizzlies haven't made it down to CO from Yellowstone

yet, but the foothills are replete with black bears and more importantly, mountain lions. I take this quite seriously, as should anyone who hits the bike trails and walks their dog in early morning or at dusk. I respect these animals and am glad (at least on some level) that they are there. But, I can't imagine taking the awesome power of these guys for granted, nor taking chances.

[NMDemDist2]

3. one summer I worked at Denali we had a griz chase a moose off the

top of the cliff on the river canyon, he climbed down and ate on that moose for 3 weeks on a slice of beach no more than 20x100 feet.

We all got GREAT photos of him from rafts or from the other side of the river, but try to tell the tourists to take the float trip for the bear instead of the "rapids"

they just didn't get it......

but he was a hell of a bear and from the size of him we figured he had been moved up from down state

Denali bears aren't usually so big, with the lack of fish in the rivers

[hlthe2b]

9. shoot, that would have been fascinating...

Re: the tourists... It would seem they'd get the same mileage from their "big stories" of the bear as the rapids. Well, one can only wonder :shrug:

[SmokingJacket]

5. I used to work for an environmental org than tried to teach people to STAY

AWAY from bears -- not just for their own safety, but for the bears'.

People who want to get all intimate and lovely dovey with bears, or any other wildlife for that matter, are not doing the wildlife any favors. An animal that is acclimated to humans is in danger.

I want to see that movie -- I think Werner Herzog rocks.

[jobycom]

6. Thanks for the review. I've been interested in this story. nt

[-..__...]

8. Another Darwin Award candidate.

One of these days Steve "the croc hunter" Irwin is going write a check his ass can't cash too.