Anodyne
Monday, December 19, 2005
 
Wildlife Author Killed, Eaten by Bears He Loved -- from the Anchorage Daily News

"Treadwell's films of close-up encounters with giant bears brought him a bounty of national media attention. The fearless former drug addict from Malibu, Calif. -- who routinely eased up close to bears to chant 'I love you' in a high-pitched, sing-song voice -- was the subject of a show on the Discovery Channel and a report on 'Dateline NBC.' Blond, good-looking and charismatic, he appeared for interviews on David Letterman's show and 'The Rosie O'Donnell Show' to talk about his bears. He even gave them names: Booble, Aunt Melissa, Mr. Chocolate, Freckles and Molly, among others.

A self-proclaimed eco-warrior, he attracted something of a cult following too. Chuck Bartlebaugh of 'Be Bear Aware,' a national bear awareness campaign, called Treadwell one of the leaders of a group of people engaged in 'a trend to promote getting close to bears to show they were not dangerous.

'He kept insisting that he wanted to show that bears in thick brush aren't dangerous. The last two people killed (by bears) in Glacier National Park went off the trail into the brush. They said their goal was to find a grizzly bear so they could "do a Timothy." We have a trail of dead people and dead bears because of this trend that says, "Let's show it's not dangerous."'"
- posted by cjb @ 9:47 PM


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