"THe Grizzly Man"

[lawrocket 3]

I watched the program last night on the Discover Channel. I remember spending years thinking that the guy was a freaking idiot. (this was the guy, Timmy Treadwell, who lived with grizzly bears every summer in Alaska, until one of them ate him and his girlfriend)

The documentary was amazing. The guy did have some issues, for sure. I'd say he was possibly on the manic-depressive side. It was interesting seeing him in moments when he just let loose. He did have problems with paranoia and other emotional issues that seemed unreasoned.

My personal funneist moment was when he was mourning the death of a fox, and at the end he kicked a fly off of the fox's eye. He blew it at the fly. "Show some respect! Fucking fly." I mean, I was rolling in laughter because it seemed so juvenile.

Still, there was another part of me that wished that I could be like that every now and then, even if just for a few days. SHout out the illogical and unreasonable thoughts that pour through my head every now and then. Cuss out flies and bitch about the government. Allow some inner paranoia to go out. And sometimes just say, "Fuck it" to my own expectations and to everyone else's.

I felt a tiny bit of admiration for the guy. However, it was balanced by a large amount of, "What a dumb ass" and "this guy is off his onion." Interviews with locals indicated they all thought he was not only an idiot, but irresponsible to himself, others and the bears. Interviews with friends and family showd they all thought he was different, but harmless, and certainly had issues.

Did anybody else catch this program?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[skydiverbry 0]

Did'nt catch it but sounds interesting!

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[airtwardo 6]

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Did anybody else catch this program?

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I saw it 'again' last night...it's been on a few times.

The wifey made me do it...it's so nature-ie.

Afterward I told her the moral to that story~

"Sometimes ya eat the bear........."

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Viking 0]

I saw it and def thought the guy had some issues. I'm not sure he was doing all that much good b/c the bears were getting used to people and there fore easier targets.

I swear you must have footprints on the back of your helmet - chicagoskydiver
My God has a bigger dick than your god -George Carlin

[n23x 0]

I've watched it a couple times on Discovery. This guy is definately from crazytown USA. Then again, I knew a lot of crazies when I lived in AK, so maybe being cooped up in dark winters and homemade moonshine had something to do with it.

.jim

"Don't touch my fucking Easter eggs, I'll be back monday." ~JTFC

[JohnRich 4]

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This guy is definately from crazytown USA. Then again, I knew a lot of crazies when I lived in AK...

Yeah, he was a bit nuts, but he was living his lifelong dream, and doing what he loved to do, even though most others thought he was acting too dangerously.

Sounds a lot like skydivers, doesn't it?

It was an excellent program. Regardless of the portrayal of the personality of Tim, it's a must see for the bear video alone. Wow!

I feel sorry mostly for the girlfriend, Angie. I can't imagine the horror she went through, seeing the bear attack Tim, actually trying to beat it off of him with a frying pan, and then being attacked herself. Gawd...

[peregrinerose 0]

We rented it a while ago, and both of us found it intreguing and disturbing. The man's intentions were good, but so completely off base from reality, he was intermittently acting like a five year old and a twelve year old, very little adult behavior from him. Even his parents seemed to consider him a bit off. Though I admit, his video of the area was beautiful and the grizzlies amazing to watch.

I felt sorry for the girl that died, sounded like she stuck around to try to save him when she could have just run off and saved herself.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Ron 7]

The guy had a screw loose.

He had some serious issues. Shame he died, worse that he took the girl with him.

But she had a choice and made it as well.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[yamtx73 0]

He definitely had some issues... it's one thing to study the bears it's a totally different story to try to live among them like he did. That was totally irresponsible on his part, not only because it wound up getting him and his girlfriend killed but it also got the bears accustomed to being around humans and losing thier natural fear of us making them more dangerous...

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

[SpeedRacer 1]

when I was in Alaska in August I heard people up there talking about him.

haven't seen the film, but some people thought he was personally charming, but flakey.

and some Alaskans were pissed at him. 1) it's a bad example to set for people (although supposedly he always did make a point of telling the viewers not to do what he was doing and 2) it is not a good thing to get bears to become acclimated to proximity to humans.

The brown bears in Alaska fall into several groups. The ones in the SE passage (where Juneau is) are very big, but they got plenty of salmon to eat, so mostly they dont mess with humans most of the time. The ones in central Alaska are the grizzly bears. They're not as big but their food source is scarce. So they are more likely to hunt humans for food.

I heard a few amazing hunting stories when I was up there.

Speed Racer
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[briguy 0]

I was very interested to see the movie. I knew it was a documentary by Herzog and I was curious what slant (if any) he might put on it. I think Herzog did a wonderful job presenting Treadwell's story without any bias.

I felt a tang of jealousy watching this movie. Treadwell was out in the world doing what he loved best and (in his mind) making a difference.

The more of Treadwell's footage I saw, the more firmly conviced I was that he was a giant attention whore. I don't remember a single clip of the footage shown in the movie where he wasn't making some grand proclaimation about himself. i.e "I survive out here where no one else can. Without weapons".

I'm sure there are hours of footage without such grandiose posturing, but I didn't see it.

And that is one of the things I dislike about the film. Granted, this is a documentary about Treadwell and his life. I would have liked to seen more bear footage.

and those foxes are absolutely adorable.

I would recommend renting the film or watching it Discovery.

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[Casie 0]

I watched it over the weekend - enjoyed it tremendously.

~Porn Kitty
WARNING: Goldschlager causes extreme emotional outbursts!

[TrophyHusband 0]

i was expecting a story "about a man who lived among the bears". instead the story seamed "look how nutty this guy is". it seems that there are two stories there to tell. i want to hear the other one.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[jtval 0]

the pilot killed tim and his girlfriend. than he found an old bear and pet its belly ( they like when you do that) it rolled around and panted at the pilot.

while the bear was enjoying the belly rub, the pilot stuffed little pieces of tim and his girlfriend in to the bear.

after the bear was full he called the authorities who prompt;y shot the bear and had a bbq.


sick story but if you read between the lines you can see the pilot was fed up with flying this guy around.

of course I am totally out of my gord but it was fun to type.

Seriously, I DID see it. and its a shame that they died. but he did get some pretty fucking outrageous experience out of it. I have no idea how it would have helped the bears but there's some cool video

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[Michele 1]

The story of Timothy Treadwell and his "work" with grizzlies is well documented and all over the net.

Some people liked him. Some people hated him. Everyone thought he was nuts to live among grizzlies for 13 summers. And lots of people admired him like they admire skydivers: "cool for you, but not for me. Tell me the story about when..."

Werner Herzog put together an incredible documentary about Treadwell, and it shows both his childlike idealization (the perfect world is one with no other people in it) as well as his apparent mental illness (yes, the signs are there for bi-polar; however, if you spent 5 days without anyone to talk to, I bet you'd start chatting to yourself too...). He showed some paranoia, but once one researchs his life, it might be found that it was justifiable in some instances.

The Park Rangers at any time could've removed him from the park. And they did not. They also used him to collect data they were unable to get, and so there was a symbiotic relationship that occurred.

Over all, Timothy Treadwell did what he loved, and died doing it. We as skydivers know how that goes...and should respect his desire to educate the public about grizzlies in a manner which few others can - or would - do.

What some people don't realize is that there was a Russian scientist who did the identical thing as Treadwell (although I can't recall the location...), and who was also killed by a bear several months after Timothy's death. Not much has been made of his life/death...primarily because there was no camera around (sound familiar, vidiots? LOL!).

I suppose that while this film may bother some people, it is also incredibly well done, and beautifully crafted from beginning to end. His decision to not include the tape of Aime's and Tim's death was because, according to Herzog, death carries a dignity, and as such, should be respected. I applaud him for that.

Don't hesitate to see it if you get the chance. It's an incredible story, and an incredible documentary.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[ViperPilot 0]

I watched a bit of it...came to the quick conclusion that this guy was a fucking idiot, then went back to beer.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Joe and I thought it was kind of eerie how he foreshadowed his own death. He mentions that a bear might end up eating him, and he also specifically says 'he could take my head off' and in fact, that's exactly what he did.

Creepy. We didn't know whether to admire him or think he was a freaking lunatic. The saddest part was the girlfriend dying. -But then again who knows...perhaps she was as into these bears as he was (no pun intended).

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[NEcrewDOG 0]

I agree with your thoughts, exactly. It was funny, sad, and creepy. I rented it when it first came out...so...i wonder how much of it was cut out of the Discovery showing. He cussed a lot throughout the documentary.

-Cory

Skydive Radio!!!

[smiles 0]

I watched "the grizzly man" the same night I watched "march of the penguins"...

-felt the footage of the "grizzly bears" and scenery was beauty...I found it difficult to relate to "the grizzly man" and his teddy bear....so lost interest in the story line.

Could someone explain what the problem was with their planned flight out? He returned back with his girlfriend during a time period he had never stayed(fully aware of death)....because of problems with flight personel??

SMiles

eustress. : a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being.

[thegreekone 0]

great post, michelle. Herzog is such a maverick, I really think he was the guy to capture all the colors of Treadwell's twisted palette.

He has made so many great movies. I would go to Netflix, load his page, and just start clicking. You can't go wrong.....and the more of his stuff you see, the easier it is to see Herzog's attraction to Treadwell.

[Michele 1]

Thanks, theGreekone...Herzog is an amazing filmmaker.

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Could someone explain what the problem was with their planned flight out? He returned back with his girlfriend during a time period he had never stayed(fully aware of death)....because of problems with flight personel??

The reason he extended his stay wasn't because of flight personnel. Rather, it was to continue to look for one particular bear he had befriended and not yet seen that summer. He stayed, fully aware that those bears he knew would be retiring for the winter, and that those still out might be highly predatory to develop their fat stores for their winter hibernation. He only extended it one week, but in that week, he was able to locate the bear. However, on the day he was supposed to be picked up, weather moved in and prevented them from landing. He had already broken camp, and had to set up a new one. And so, apparently, he moved it into the path of a predatory bear, one not known to him, and thus increased his danger level.

That is, from what I understand, the events surrounding his and Aime's deaths. it wasn't the pilot's fault whatsoever.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[lauras 0]

There was an article about Timmy Treadwell in Vanity Fair a couple of years ago. It basically concluded "the dumbass asked for it." Interesting read about someone's complete self-absorption parading around as nature's savior.

[godfrog 2]

aint it funny how a guy gets a fur coat and then turns into a shit!

Experience is a difficult teacher, she gives you the test first and the lesson afterward

[briguy 0]

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The reason he extended his stay wasn't because of flight personnel.

where are you getting that information? in the documentary, herzog narrated that portion involving some issue with flying home. my impression was it was some commercial airline, not a private pilot.

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[Michele 1]

There may have been an issue with a commercial flight being available when he wanted to return home, but his decision to extend his stay was because of the bear he was looking for, and not because of an airline.

Andrews Air (I think), which is a "commercial" bush piloting service, is the one that he used, iirc, and the flight was delayed because of a storm which came in when the rescheduled flight was supposed to come. That caused a delay, not intentional, and the pilot came the next day. He landed, hollered for the two, started walking up to the camp, felt something was really wrong, and went (ran?)back to his plane (apparently he also saw one of the bears subsequently killed by Park Rangers). He then flew over the campsite, and saw a bear eating a ribcage. He radio'd that back, and the rangers came in, found a bear eating a corpse, shot that bear (the very old one), and then later that day had to shoot a younger sub-adult (about 3 years old). There is some discussion about whether or not the old bear was the one who'd done the killing, as his teeth were not capable of making some of the wounds found on both Treadwell and his girlfriend (according to both the rangers as well as the coroner).

The information I've gotten has been from reading many different accounts, as well as that account made in The Grizzly Man. Yes, there was a problem, but it wasn't the pilots/airline's fault. It was rather a delay caused by Treadwell's rescheduling of his pick-up date, and then weather moving in. If you really need some sources, I'll see if I can't find them again for you (I just can't right now, sorry).

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~