JERRY_SANCHEZ Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 See this post from the Times today. Seen black bears but they are not as big and aggressive as grizzley bears. Ever seen grizzlies around here? I heard there is a small population in the North Cascades... Thursday, October 09, 2003 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M. Audiotape captured sounds of bear attack By Jai-Rui Chong and Steve Hymon Los Angeles Times Timothy Treadwell can be heard desperately fighting off a grizzly bear on a 3-minute audiotape of the fatal mauling that claimed his life and that of his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, in Katmai National Park and Preserve earlier this week, Alaska State Troopers disclosed yesterday. The Malibu couple had been camping in a remote corner of the 4-million-acre park on Alaska's southwest coast for several days to observe the bears. Treadwell, 46, was a self-taught bear expert who frequently described his adventures with the animals on television and in schools. Their remains were found Monday by the bush pilot who had flown to their camp to pick them up. The audiotape is from a hand-held video camera that Treadwell used to record his encounters with the bears, some of which weigh more than 1,000 pounds, police said. There was no video of the attack, said Greg Wilkinson, public-information officer for the Alaska State Troopers. Treadwell was last heard from at noon Sunday, when he used a satellite phone to call a friend in Malibu, Calif. According to Wilkinson, the tape begins with sounds of Treadwell screaming that he is being attacked and calling for help to Huguenard, who was apparently still inside a tent. "Come out here; I'm being killed out here," said Treadwell, repeating quotes from the tapes. "Play dead!" Huguenard yelled in reply. That strategy is commonly used to pacify angry bears in an attack. But Treadwell told Huguenard the strategy wasn't working and she then urged him to "fight back." Treadwell, who never carried weapons, then asked her to get a pan and to hit the bear, police said. At that point, the tape stops. Much of it is fuzzy or inaudible, Wilkinson said. Wilkinson said investigators had found the camera inside a bag they had picked up at the couple's campsite. He said he did not know whether one of the National Park Service rangers or state troopers who responded to the scene had put the camera in the bag or whether Huguenard had done so before she was killed. The beginning of the tape included video and audio of Treadwell interacting with the bears in the days before the attack. "The troopers who saw the tape said that, at one point, Treadwell is doing something and a bear suddenly comes up behind him and he has that 'oh my God' look on his face," Wilkinson said. "I'm sure all along he knew that he was playing with fire and that probably was part of the appeal." Park Service officials for years have been critical of Treadwell, saying he got too close to wild animals and made the mistake of treating them like people. His friends, however, said Treadwell's photos and 1999 book, "Among Grizzlies," helped educate people about bears. Treadwell had spent the past 13 summers in Alaska. He had been there since June, traveling to remote locations where he could pitch his tent and view bears. Huguenard, 37, spent time with him in July and traveled to be with him in September. Dean Andrew, owner of Andrew Airways in Alaska, said his company had flown Treadwell on three trips into the Alaskan wilderness this year. The last trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision that took Treadwell and Huguenard back into Katmai on Sept. 29. "The morning of the pick-up, there was no call," Andrew said. "That was a red flag." The pilot who was supposed to pick up the pair was a good friend of Treadwell's and did not want to speak to the media, Andrew added. Andrew said the pilot knew something was wrong when he landed near Treadwell's camp at 1:10 p.m. on Monday. Usually, Treadwell would contact the approaching pilot through a hand-held radio and then arrange his gear on the shoreline of the lake where the pilot landed his floatplane. On Monday, the pilot did not hear the familiar voice and noticed that the camp was still pitched about 100 yards up a hill from the lake. The pilot got out of the plane, shouted and walked toward the camp when, as Andrew described it, he "got a strange feeling that something wasn't right." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klenke Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Not an audio tape I'd like to hear thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelle Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Wow! That is such a bummer. This guy was really cool. I had seen a couple of his programs on bears, either on Discovery or PBS. His focus was educating the public through information and study of the bears, and to defend their habitat from development and poachers. What a loss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bird Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 JERRY_SANCHEZ said: See this post from the Times today. Seen black bears but they are not as big and aggressive as grizzley bears. Ever seen grizzlies around here? I heard there is a small population in the North Cascades... A few years back National Geographic did a story on grizzlies and they reported a very small population (6-10) in the North Cascades. Something like that. That must be one of the worst ways to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 frisky frollics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Caveman Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Bears are wild animals. I am not surprised. Darwin award is being mailed. Attached is a photo of David Parker's butt and 2 young grizzly bears we saw a couple of months ago. Don't mess with bears. All these people who research them or get too close are dumb not to have a BFG with them IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Cpt.Caveman said: Bears are wild animals. I am not surprised. Darwin award is being mailed. Attached is a photo of David Parker's butt and 2 young grizzly bears we saw a couple of months ago. Don't mess with bears. All these people who research them or get too close are dumb not to have a BFG with them IMHO. i agree and along those lines, the only people i have heard about activly searching out and bothering peragrines is researchers. you play with fire you're gonna get burned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minx Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 (edited) bird said: JERRY_SANCHEZ said: See this post from the Times today. Seen black bears but they are not as big and aggressive as grizzley bears. Ever seen grizzlies around here? I heard there is a small population in the North Cascades... A few years back National Geographic did a story on grizzlies and they reported a very small population (6-10) in the North Cascades. Something like that. That must be one of the worst ways to go. recently ran into a rather large brown bear, grizzly or not it was none to glad to see me!!! it sucks the guy died but it's not surprising. Edited October 9, 2003 by minx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 i agree and along those lines, the only people i have heard about activly searching out and bothering peragrines is researchers. you play with fire you're gonna get burned. I would rather researchers study what going on on our little planet, rather than ignoring what is going on and wrecking it. It seems like this is little bit like calling an Everest climber an idiot because he is caught in a storm and dies. True, if you play with fire you could get burned...but that doesn't make you an idiot...it could just be what you're prepared to sacrafice to do something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobBob Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 doesn't make you an idiot...it could just be what you're prepared to sacrafice to do something. caveman, reserve one Darwin for oly just in case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 RobBob said: doesn't make you an idiot...it could just be what you're prepared to sacrafice to do something. caveman, reserve one Darwin for oly just in case Ehem!...just to make it clear...though I have in the past barely survived being awarded this noble prize, I'm not currently in the business of playing with grizzlys and whatnot. Thanks for thinking of me though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tod Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Black Bears and Grizzly bears have very different temperments. It's like the difference between a Family dog and a Pit Bull. Unless you corner and threaten a Black Bear, you'll be hard pressed to even get near it or be in danger. They're much more scared of you and will usually run before you can get near them. Grizzly's obviously are a much different story... Call me ignorant if you want about the temperment of black bears, but this is from years of experience and close encounters. Of two notable close encounters: One summer I ran into 15 black bears, once while sleeping out in the open one was 10 feet from me and ran when I moved, another time I was caught between a female and it's two cubs. The cubs ran up the tree, the female ran away down the hill and around me back towards it's cubs. I was spooked needless to say.... I've heard reports of Grizzly's along Lake Chelan, but that's about it. I am pretty sure that the east slopes of the Cascades all the way from Entiat River north have a high probability of inhabiting Grizzly Bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Parker Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 (edited) Thanks Ray for that nice butt shot. It is obvious I'm rumaging around for my ak47 to take out those 2 bears. Don't you have photo shop you terd! lol. Anyway, I know better than to mess with bears, but cougars are another story... http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cougar/attacks.html Edited October 9, 2003 by David_Parker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobBob Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 as I remember there have been at least 3 fatal maulings by black bears in the last few years. I have them around my house, and while I don't pack a gun for them I do not let my small kids go into the woods alone because of them. I watched a very large sow watch me and occasionally come my way while she and her 2 cubs were in a field that I was surveying a couple of years ago. They are fully capable of taking you out if surprised IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skykilo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Tod said: Black Bears and Grizzly bears have very different temperments. It's like the difference between a Family dog and a Pit Bull. Hey man, Pit Bulls are great dogs. Mine loves kids, and he spent some time living with a two year old toddler who liked to mess with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formaldehead Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 NEVER enter grizzly country without your Ursus Mark VI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatskiclimbsail Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Coming from an east coast backwoods environment, I will agree black bears are more or less tame unless you really piss them off. There are several places in the 'daks I have camped that are visited by the same group of bears every night because there is always some dumb*ss who doesn't tie up their food correctly. I've come eye to eye with the things on a few occasions and they usually are the first to run (though it isnt long before I am as well!) I have't yet had the pleasure of running into a brown bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Formaldehead said: NEVER enter grizzly country without your Ursus Mark VI. I prefer the Mark VII. The Mark VI is obsolete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS THREAD BEFORE???? insert deja-vu graemlin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Dru said: WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS THREAD BEFORE???? insert deja-vu graemlin! Sorry...but it bears to be repeated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa_Eagle Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 boatskiclimbsail said: There are several places in the 'daks I have camped that are visited by the same group of bears every night because there is always some dumb*ss who doesn't tie up their food correctly. is Marcy Dam one of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Ouch. That tape must be a horrible thing to listen too. It's true, if you play along enough with fire you'll get burned. You listening, Roy Horn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Harris Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Seen quite a few black bears in CA and OR and never had a problem. I have been lucky enough to see one Grizzley in Montana. I was fishing in in the St. Mary River when I heard a tremendous crashing and saw 4 deer bust out of the brush, across and upstream from me, and then run along the stream shore. Shortly after a large grizz ambled out and swam across the river, to my side of the stream. Quite fascinating, but I got out of there rather quickly since I could no longer see him due to the willows along the stream. To bad about Treadwell and Huguenard. That is definitely not a tape I would like to listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 http://www.bearinfo.org/observations.htm they're giving a talk at REI with proof about Grizzlies in the NCNP, the new Smith Guide, and the sweet Renton granite crag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobo Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Checking time/date stamp... Entering decision tree... Analyzing critical data... Conclusion: Make no post to this thread. Carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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