Two killed by bears

KING SALMON, Alaska

Turns out these people were 'bear experts' they had written books about these bears and had film equipment with them according to the Oregonian This Morning. Said they had spent 12 seasons with these bears - Maybe they thought they knew too much and took something for granted.

Sorry to hear of their loss and best wises to their family and friends.

Definitely a sad loss, but you should read this fascinating article from today's (10/8/03) Anchorage Daily News before you decide if this guy was a 'bear expert':
http://www.adn.com/front/story/4110831p-4127072c.html

Yes, he spent a lot of time among bears, but this guy had a very different 'expertise' from anyone I know. A self-described expert, maybe.

My favorite quote from this article: 'The fearless former drug addict from Malibu, Calif.

What a over the top hippie! Because of his 'special love of bears' he cost the lives of two Browns, himself and his girlfriend.

This quote tells it all! Katmai park ranger: 'The last time I saw Timothy, I told him to be safe out there and that none of my staff would ever forgive him if they had to kill a bear because of

teaching the wrong message.

Check out his website: http://www.grizzlypeople.com/home.php He did not follow his own advice!

And they have not even given Timothy a Darwin award yet. ( www.darwinawards.com )

I'm sorry to belabor this point, but I want to encourage any of you that are interested in this incident to follow in the Anchorage Daily News - they're covering it very well. Today (Friday 10/10): http://www.adn.com/front/story/4127139p-4142019c.html

I have an interest in this simply because I've done a lot of non-hunting river/fishing trips and camping in serious grizzly/brown bear country and have never had a significant dangerous incident in 23 years... because I always follow the basic 'rules'. I've spent many a night in a small nylon tent snuggled up with my 12 gauge slug gun, but it has never been fired except to practice and my goal is to never kill a grizzly or even fire at one to scare it off. Being an enthusiastic hunter of large and small game, almost exclusively for meat, I respect and defend those who chose to hunt bears, but it's just not my thing. On the other hand, I also respect those who like to watch bears and not hunt them. They are truly awe-inspiring (and pucker inspiring!) creatures and fun to view in any context, hunting or not.

BUT.... my favorite quote from today's article: According to a memo from Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Larry Van Daele, Treadwell set up his bear-viewing camp 'in such a way that bears wishing to traverse the area would have had to either wade in the lake or walk right next to the tent. A person could not have designed a more dangerous location to set up a camp.''

I'm very sorry for the families these two left behind, as well as the senseless loss of two bears.

After reading the article, it sounds to me like an incident was inevitable.

Most of the Darwin award winners earn their award on their first attempt at doing something stupid. I suspect that doing something stupid over a course of a dozen years and getting away with it would disqualify him from the award.

Although I disagree with his message, I do feel compassion concerning his death, and the death of his girlfriend.

I would never consider living among browns (or bears of any color), unarmed, in a tent. They are too unpredictable. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel a certain respect and admiration for a man who would. We may think he was crazy, or irresponsible, but for over a decade he had the 'nads to study brown bears from six feet away. Some have made fun of the fact that he sang to them (he did have a high 'girlie' voice), but I imagine that if I was unarmed and six feet from a brown bear I wouldn't be singing, and my voice might be a bit squeaky if I did.

It is true that he ultimately underestimated the inate aggression of these bears. He paid with his life, as did his girlfiend, and two bears.

Since these bears are also hunted for sport, I would hope that fellow hunters will not ridicule his death, or use the killing of two bears as a means to ridicule him. There are brown bear skins hanging on the wall all over the world. Some of you are planning hunts right now, and I wish I was going with you. Armed, of course.

'Timothy' made a fatal mistake, but there is no disputing his love for the bears, or his courage. He placed himself in the mix to advance the science, the knowledge, of bears, and to help deter poaching. Perhaps the beauty lies in the fact that he lived with these bears for over ten years, that he taught others what he had learned, and that we can all benefit from a respect and love for things that are wild.

Safe hunting, ....carry on. noah

To email me, please remove the 'FISH' from the net.

Some Treadwell quotes from http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/gizmo/1999/tim.html

'I'm much more likely to be killed by an angry sport hunter than a bear,' he said decisively. 'I'm in more danger here in San Francisco,' he added.