The Dude says he finally got around to catching that movie about the guy who lived among Alaskan grizzlies till one of them ate him.

Timothy Treadwell was a guy who lived among grizzlies in Alaska. It appears he thought the bears were people in furry bear suits. He thought he was “guarding” and “protecting” the bears.

He lived among the bears (in violation of many Park Service rules… such as coming within 100 feet of the bears). They became habituated to his presence. He often got close enough to actually touch the 600 pound bears.


And one of them got tired of his shit and ate him.

The only true tragedy is that the bear that ate him and his girlfriend was shot by park service employees.


If I was a Katmai Grizzly, I would have taken his head off with one swipe.

I saw Grizzly Man last summer and as much as I admire the Dude’s go-for-it, don’t-think-about-it approach to blogging, I have to correct the record on the Grizzly Man.


Treadwell was a loon, but he lived among the bears for 13 summers before his luck ran out — and the one that killed him was, it’s believed, from the far backcountry and not habituated to
Treadwell’s presence. So, not sick of Tim’s shit, just hungry and having missed the “he’s not prey” memo all the local bears got before they went into hibernation.


Also, in each previous year Treadwell had made it a point to leave at the time of the year before the hungry, aggressive bears came down from the high country to feed and fatten up before winter.


It was, for sure, his own damn fault at the end when he stayed a week or two longer than he usually did and took risks he had not taken before — but it wasn’t 13 summers of stupidty that got him killed; it was just one week of it after a long run of getting along fine.


He was like a tight-rope walker who slipped up once and it got him killed.


Every time I tell Treadwell’s story I always add this part after I tell the funny part, that he thought he could live among the bears until they ate him.


If he hadn’t been such a transparently disturbed individual he never would’ve thought that it was, like, possible to live that closely among bears and survive. He was crazy enough to try and died at the end of a 13-year winning streak.

Secretly, when we hear of the deaths of climbers, skydivers or anybody else engaged in potentially fatally adventures, we say to ourselves “well, they had it coming to them.” But we don’t say it with the smug satisfaction of almost everybody who has seen “Grizzly Man.”

Treadwell could not have survived 13 summers among the bears if he was oblivious to the potential of being eaten. But I suspect what killed him is the same thing that kills most daredevils: each success encouraged him to take greater risks.

I’m sure the people who knew Treadwell assumed the bears would eventually kill him. Having seen the film, I’m pretty sure he did, too. Yeah, the guy was a wack job.

But he was not that much wackier than any of the other daredevils we lavish so much admiration upon. He tried something other people thought to be impossible, and succeeded for a long time. But as so often is the case, the character quirks that made it possible for him to take such risks also cost him his life. The guy was vain, deluded, paranoid — hallmarks of mental illness — and imagined himself protecting bears that didn’t need the protection.

But these weren’t his fatal flaw, which was more basic (and far more widespread in our species): He thought he was the architect of his own success, when the main reason he survived was that the local bears didn’t think of him as food. When he met one that believed otherwise, the obvious happened.

So, did he have it coming to him? Sure. He took absurd chances. Still, he leaves a cautionary tale for all who enjoy the outdoors: no matter how much you love nature, it will not love you back. Adore it if you dare, but never disrespect it.