Why the bears ate their friend "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell

Large predators always pose a danger. Even if it seems that a strong emotional connection has arisen with the animal, there is always the possibility of changing status and turning from a close friend into a hunted object. This is exactly what happened to American Timothy Treadwell, who considered grizzly bears his friends. As a result, the animals ate the unlucky naturalist and his girlfriend right during the filming of another video about “cute bears.”

Timothy Treadwell was born in 1957 in Long Island, New York. He was the fifth child in the most ordinary American family. At school, Timothy studied well and played sports. He even became the star of his school's scuba diving team. He loved animals and kept a squirrel named Willie at home in junior high.

Everything changed when the guy went to college and moved to another city. He started acting strange. Treadwell claimed to be a British orphan and born in Australia. Later, in an interview with journalists, his parents said that while away from home, their son became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which affected his psyche.

Timothy's life was stormy and carefree. The turning point came when he almost died due to a heroin overdose and his girlfriend left him. Then Treadwell realized something needed to change. He stopped drinking and using illegal substances, and then went on a trip to Alaska. In 1989, a man first came to Katmai National Park and fell in love with this place.

In the park, Treadwell observed the lives of grizzly bears and soon realized that he wanted to devote his life to studying them. In one of his books, Timothy wrote that it was these animals that helped him finally get rid of bad habits. The mountain forests of Alaska are not the best place for wintering, and bears hibernate in winter. Therefore, Treadwell came to Katmai only during the warm season. In total, he spent 13 summer seasons in this park.

Timothy Treadwell wrote books about grizzlies, took photographs and videos of them, and observed the life of animals in the wild at close range. He became a real expert on these predators and even created an animal protection association called the Grizzly People. The naturalist traveled to American schools giving lectures about bears, and his audience was several thousand people.

The videos shot by the naturalist are amazing. In them, Treadwell fearlessly approached grizzlies, talked to them and even stroked them. Moreover, Timothy did absolutely crazy things, for example, played with the cubs in the presence of their mother. National park employees often clashed with bear lovers. They considered him crazy and even forbade him from visiting the park.

But Treadwell did not listen to anyone and continued to come to Katmai every summer. He often took his girlfriend Amy Huguenard, who was also a passionate lover of wildlife, with him. In 2003, a couple of enthusiasts returned to Alaska. This time they planned to visit an area of the park called Big Green. Timothy called this place of tall, lush grass “Grizzly Labyrinth.”

It must be said that Treadwell chose the wrong time for his trip. It was August—the end of summer, when bears are actively feeding, trying to gain fat for hibernation. They are especially aggressive at this time, and park rangers have warned guests about this. But Timothy and his girlfriend were confident and behaved as usual.

Treadwell and his girlfriend spent days filming bears in the long grass of the Big Green, and spent the night in a tent right there in the meadow. On October 5, 2003, Timothy made contact for the last time. He called his friend on the satellite phone. A day later, a plane arrived for Treadwell and his girlfriend, but the naturalists did not come to the appointed place.

The concerned pilot contacted national park rangers. They headed to the naturalists' camp and made a terrible discovery there. Timothy and Amy were dead, their bodies dismembered and partially eaten. There were many bear tracks around the remains of the nature lovers, so the cause of the couple’s death was obvious even without an examination.

Rangers later tracked and shot two grizzly bears, who found human flesh and pieces of clothing in their stomachs. The deaths of Treadwell and Huguenard were the first bear-related tragedies in Katmai Park's 85-year history. This incident forced the reserve administration to tighten control over tourists.

The unusual story of the nature lover's life and death inspired director Werner Herzog to make the 2005 documentary Grizzly Man about Timothy Treadwell. In 2004, filming of a feature film about a bear lover was supposed to begin, where Leonardo DiCaprio was planned to play the main role. However, the project could not be implemented for a number of reasons.