Heartbreaking documentary explores life of bear enthusiast who was tragically killed by one on camera with girlfriend
Warning: This article contains content which some readers may find distressing.
A heartbreaking documentary explores the life of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell, who, along with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, was tragically mauled by a bear.
The environmentalist and documentarian, who was nicknamed 'Grizzly Man' because of his love of bears, spent 13 years living among the bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park, travelling out there every summer.
He documented his journey right up until his death in 2003 with hours of footage, with Timothy's life later being immortalised in Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man.
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Originally from New York, the filmmaker would chat and touch the bears while on his trips, believing himself to be one of them and that they were just misunderstood animals.
However, he was repeatedly warned against doing so by family and friends, as well as park officials. Treadwell himself also seemingly predicted how he would die in a video.
A 25-page document from United States Department of the Interior (DOI) said that Treadwell's desire to 'act like a bear' had 'often put him at odds with conventional wisdom on how to behave in bear country and brought warnings from a myriad of sources'.
Hours before the couple were set to travel back home via a seaplane, Treadwell was attacked and killed by a bear - which then killed Huguenard.
"On Sunday or Monday, October 6 or 7, 2003, an adult male brown bear killed and ate Mr. Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Ms. Amy Huguenard, 37, at their campsite near a lake at the head of Kaflia Bay on the Pacific coast of Katmai National Park," the DOI said at the time.
"Establishing their camp away from obvious bear travel ways and known feeding areas likely would have prevented the confrontation that resulted in their deaths."
Because of Treadwell's documentation of his trips, a six-minute audio clip was captured during the attack, revealing their chilling final words.
According to Willy Funton, who would usually escort them back home, he would typically find Treadwell and Huguenard waiting on the shore, however, this time he saw the 'meanest looking bear' standing atop a pile of human remains.
The bear was later found and killed.
Grizzly Man recounted the two tragic deaths, as well as Treadwell's life, and featured interviews with those who knew him, as well as bear professionals.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the 2005 film received a 93 percent from the critics and a 85 percent from the general audience.
And viewers were very much moved by the documentary.
"Loved the documentary. Very sad ending. What a great man/person though. He was so passionate about wildlife," one viewer said.
"A true masterpiece. A love letter. A love letter to nature, to passion, to Timothy, to bears, to foxes, to Alaska made with humility and respect. Probably one of the greatest animal and nature lover documentary ever," another added.
Meanwhile, a third called it 'haunting'.
Grizzly Man is available to rent and buy on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from £3.49.
Topics: Animals, Documentaries
Anish Vij