(Not spolier-ific in the least)
There are times when people become consumed by their life’s work or life loves. Rarely is this a literal thing. Unfortunately for Treadwell and his girlfriend, it was.
Grizzly Man. It’s a documentary about Timothy Treadwell(not his real name). A man who would brave the wilds of Alaska to film the “Godless killing machines” of the north; grizzly bears. Treadwell found solace in those bears. A solace that he couldn’t find living amongst humans.
The man loved those bears. Not proper-loved, mind you. A kind of animal transformation spiritual type love. One can only hope it wasn’t a proper-love. I hate to picture a cub wandering the forests with a shaggy, blonde mop of hair and a slightly mental state of mind.
The documentary takes you on a tour of his life via the hundreds of hours of footage he shot while summering with the bears. They say he “studied” the bears but I say you have to have hard scientific data before you can say you “studied” anything. None of that was represented in the film. Ironically the study became one of Treadwell’s attitude and bear affections.
He did takes tons of photos. Treadwell taught himself photography during his journey. The photos were never shown in the film but a few were featured in the 30 minute extra that aired afterwards. And those few I saw were pretty fricking spectacular.
Some say he was a bit too dense or granola to realize the danger of grizzly bears. I can see where they would get that idea after watching him lovingly admire a pile of fresh, steamy bear poop.
Others felt that he was breaking with a 7,000 year tradition of giving the bears there own space. Respect the bears by staying away. Given what happens to Treadwell, that probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
I say the man had to have some kind of brainpower because he summered with grizzlies for 13 summers before his unfortunate end. He was trying to prove that humans and animals could live in harmony if humans kept their wits while around the beasts. He toured the country and lectured in front of thousands of kids teaching them about his bear experiences. He did these things for free. Kids loved his enthusiasm. I wonder how many future zoologists he may have inspired, via his idiocy, through shear will alone.
He also exposed the white elephant of poaching in Alaska. Now public eyes are on Alaska for the illegal killing of the animals for their pelts, paws and gall bladders.
In the end I think the native local was right. Grizzlies are wild things that should be studied but at a distance. One, because if the grizzlies get too used to humans they may start thinking that every human is good-hearted and we all know that’s nowhere near truth. Two, the darn critters need their space. Let them be as they were millennia ago or as they will be a millennia from now; wild things. To paraphrase David Addison, ‘Let the bears, bear.’
The Grizzly Man documentary made the rounds at Sundance and is worth a view for anyone interested animals. Human and bear alike.
