Anatomy of a Bear Bite: The Timothy Treadwell Story

[Pilgrim]

On the Discovery Channel.

What a fruitcake. Cameras, no guns.

 

[Das Pferd]

"Hit the bear! Hit the bear!"

 

[Travis McGee]

Apparantly the video was left running during the entire attack, and the sound is captured, every scream and crunch. I don't want to hear it.

 

[longrifleman]

What a fruitcake

You're too kind. I saw the show and if that guy was following me around singing to me I probably would have attacked him myself. But, is was an interesting insight into the thinking (if you can call it that) of the loony animal rights activists.

The mechanical bear was cool though. Very interesting to see the power of a bear measured like that. But, add some adrenilian and I think their force levels are a bit low.

The show was worth watching if anyone catches it on later.

 

[Walosi]

I caught part of the last 10 minutes or so. Interesting. The narrator said that Treadwell had dedicated his life to assimilating into the bear community, trying to become a part of it, and to one extent he was successful. The bear that killed him was well fed and in good condition. It did not attack out of hunger. From treadwells own notes, it was a "type A" bear, a boss bear, and allowed Treadwell to attain his hearts desire - It treated him like a lesser male member of the group, recognizing his membership by asserting its authority over him, as a boss bear will do. Treadwell, however well-intentioned, was NOT a bear, and the normal whuppin' up given by a boss bear killed him. This was "raised on Disney dementia", carried to a fatal extreme.

 

[hillbilly]

I saw the show.

What struck me was the mauling survivor and his reactions to the big mechanical bear.

Even though it was obviously a model, and a machine, it made the mauling survivor visibly nervous.

Yeesh.

hillbilly

 

[Cosmoline]

"The history of the world, my sweet, is who gets eaten and who gets to eat." Sweeny Todd

Of course, the National Park Service has its own Disney syndrome, and continues to march people past bears that have been semi-tamed so the touristas can get photos. NPS continues to ban all hunting or even carrying of firearms on its property, while at the same time encouraging bear to get close to trails and roads. In the old days they actually used bait to attract the bears at Yellowstone. Now they use conditioning. In the real Alaska--the part outside the NPS occupied territory, bear prefer to avoid humans and even walking across their trail can spook them for weeks.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Go to the library and check out Howard Blackmore's book on Hunting Weapons. One of the illustrations shows a man suited in armor and armed with a dagger going against a bear. Unfortunately, there is no text to explain it - but then again, you're canned food to the bear and I guess that needs no explanation.

 

[Das Pferd]

WHat amazed me was the videos of bears running. One particulary where a bear charged anothe bear in the woods. It made me realize that a gun could pretty much be worthless unless you saw the bear coming from a ways off. If you come upon a bear suddenly or are ambushed your screwed.

 

[Jamie B]

Saw part of this show, also.
I had done a little research after reading about this moron on THR.

I told the wife that he might as well have been wearing a sign saying "LUNCH" when she asked about the idiot during the show.

Watching any dimwit within several feet of these bears, while they were eating, was unbelievable - my first thought was that my .480 Ruger would not be enough gun for these monsters!

Music did not calm the savage beast in this case, but was a pre-curser to the meal.

I guess that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Jamie

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah they move FAST. They move like hairy torpedoes through the underbrush. They're perfectly shaped for plowing along through devil's club and alder like it's water. The times I've had close run-ins (all with blackies, thankfully) I've always heard the bruins long before I see them. They make a distinct crashing/sliding noise. In thick spots in particular I usually go hot, with the shotgun in my hands, a shell in the chamber and the safety off. If it comes to it, you don't want to have to do anything but pull the trigger 'cause that's all you'll ever have time to do.

 

[Foreign Devil]

One of the illustrations shows a man suited in armor and armed with a dagger going against a bear.

Actually some tinkerer did come up with an armored bear suit once. He even tested it personally. It looked like a robot from a Japanese cartoon, and it worked, though it wasn't very mobile.