MovieChat Forums > Grizzly Man (2005) Discussion > How exactly did he "protect" the bears?

How exactly did he "protect" the bears?

posted 9 years ago by Wuchakk
12 replies | jump to latest

One curious part occurs when Treadwell shoots footage of visitors to the park, which shows one of them throwing a couple rocks at a grizzly. Timothy is clearly offended, but fails to do anything about it. As the "protector" of the bears, as he continuously claims, I expected him to at least approach the group and verbally castigate the man who threw the rocks, but he does nothing.

(In defense of the guy who threw the rocks, he possibly did so to sway the bear away from them, which is what rangers instruct visitors to do if a bear comes too close).

I'm just trying to figure out what he actually did that "protected" the bears? I suppose you could argue that he created public awareness through his videos and appearances, which might have indirectly helped the bears.

My 150 (or so) favorite movies:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070122364/

[–] DingelBerry 9 years ago

Just watched this movie and I also wondered the same thing, before this documentary I've never heard if him.

[–] Joel_S 9 years ago

Well he offered himself up as a tasty meal.

[–] Wuchakk 9 years ago

Yes, that certainly helped the bears; at least one bear anyway.

My 150 (or so) favorite movies:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070122364/

[–] alloneword950-948-598356 9 years ago

But ironically, if I remember correctly, wasn't the bear responsible for his death shot? I seem to remember talk of his remains being removed from the stomach of the bear, possibly after being found at/near the scene of the attack.

[–] HoldTheCock 9 years ago

Until the bear got shot to death 

[–] chas437 9 years ago

He never protected any bears. He wasn't anywhere near the part of the park were bear poaching had occurred.

He didn't really have the means to stop poaching or legal hunting.

All he really did was hang out and harass bears as they were going about their business. He did get some great footage of Grizzly bears, but there are plenty of wildlife photographers that do the same.

He got exactly what he deserved, and was a despicable man to put his girlfriend in mortal danger. His folly caused the death of two bears.

[–] mel2000 (259) 4 years ago

He got exactly what he deserved, and was a despicable man to put his girlfriend in mortal danger.

He didn't put his grown girlfriend in danger unless you think of her as a child who can't make her own decisions. She met Treadwell after reading his book and contacting him. She also spent parts of 3 summers with the bears. She knew what she was getting into. She had her bags packed at the airport awaiting a new job in California, but decided to go back to join Treadwell. It was their last time. Treadwell can't be blamed for her death. There was no coercion.

[–] Ms_Movie_Star 9 years ago

I thought the same thing: By trying to befriend the bears he was actually endangering their lives by making them accustomed to people which wouldn't have helped them in the wild with poachers.

[–] Goughrew 8 years ago

I don't understand how anybody can think he was protecting bears.

It's an excellent doc, and the guy was interesting, but I have a really hard time feeling sorry for him. I definitely feel sorry for his girlfriend though.

If he was in an area where bears were already protected, then what was his purpose out there? It really did seem like a child who watched a cute and cuddly bear cartoon, then begged his parents to let him play with the real bears.

I'm not saying I know his whole story and everything he did; I'm basing my opinion strictly on the documentary.

If anybody thinks his work really did serve a purpose up there, I'd like to hear his/her argument.

[–] Branais (73) 8 years ago

I don't understand how anybody can think he was protecting bears.

I don't think anyone did, besides Treadwell himself. Herzog himself makes it pretty clear he separates what Treadwell claimed about himself from what Herzog saw as reality.

I definitely feel sorry for him. His delusion, his need to find a place to "belong" when he didn't feel he had a place in regular society led him and his girlfriend to horrifying deaths; can you honestly not summon any sympathy for that?

Another sad thing is that he seemed not to have achieved anything positive at all. Beyond putting himself at risk, and anyone he persuaded to accompany him, he was also a thorn in the rangers' sides, by spreading misperceptions about the bears and the danger they posed among the children he loved visiting and speaking to.

But all of that was separate from the fact that he was a lonely fish-out-of-water individual who was literally ripped apart by his delusions. Any of us could fall into a similar pit.

[–] mel2000 (259) 4 years ago

Another sad thing is that he seemed not to have achieved anything positive at all.

Every death has a purpose. Treadwell's unintentional lesson taught us that bears don't understand the human concept of respect and that they are mainly motivated by hunger. His death served a positive purpose if it prevented a single idealistic adventurer from following in his footsteps.

[–] AP (5295) 7 years ago

He didn't protect them. As others have pointed out, he did more harm than good and got himself and his girlfriend killed. Watching the movie, it was pretty clear he was delusional.