HikeArizona.COM

Saw this article today. Even "experts" need to remember, wild animals are wild and may not always be predictable.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/977560.asp

Here's part of the article....

THE BODIES OF Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were found Monday at their campsite when a pilot arrived who was supposed to take them to Kodiak, state troopers said Tuesday.
Treadwell, co-author of “Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska,” spent more than a dozen summers living alone with and videotaping Katmai bears. Information on Huguenard was not immediately available.
The Andrew Airways pilot contacted troopers in Kodiak and the National Park Service after he saw a brown bear, possibly on top of a body, at the camp near Kaflia Bay.
Park rangers encountered a large, aggressive male brown bear within minutes of arriving.

That is a real sad story, but it seems Mr. Timothy was pushing the limits with the bears, by getting far too close and too comfortable with them.

In response to Billy's reply:

Maybe Roy has something to contribute to that discussion.

Makes you wonder if the bears were miffed because their sidekicks were killed for gallbladders.

A LESSON I LEARNED (ALMOST THE HARD WAY) IN ALASKA WAS: WHERE THERE IS A CUTE LITTLE BABY ANIMAL ALLOWING YOU TO GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO TAKE A PICTURE, THERE IS A MUCH LARGER MOTHER GETTING READY TO REMOVE YOU FROM YOUR PLACE ON EARTH.
AS OBVIOUS AS THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN, IT WAS A NEW LESSON TO ME.

It's sad the guy and his companion were killed. But I feel bad for the two bears also. Wild animals will typically be cautious of humans. His years of interaction helped dispel any caution the bears may have had. I know, brown bears will attack, they are predators. But even predators tend to be cautious of other predators. They don't want to get hurt when they feed. If you are not another predator then you are prey.

the only thing predictable about wild animals are that they are 100% unpredictable..

bears are one of the worst and most unpredictable..

almost all animals have a natural fear of man, I think in most cases we should leave it that way.

There are two groups of wildlife on the planet, predator and prey.

We were driving through the Pinal Mountains yesterday and spotted a Beautiful Black Bear about 100 to 150 yards off the road. I would guess him/her to be around 350lbs. We saw 5 deer on the short trip. The Aspens are starting to color up...so, the next couple of weeks should provide a very pleasing view for anybody that makes the drive up.

I've seen this guy on National Geo with these bears and always wondered how he got away with not getting mauled. This guy gets insanely close to these huge animals. Its a tragedy that he and his girlfriend were killed by the very animals that they loved to be around, but when you take chances like he did something bad is bound to happen.

Why do people think it's ok to mess with a wild animal? It's like playing in traffic. Eventually you are going to get hit.

Can we blame Disney for this?

DoFear wrote:Why do people think it's ok to mess with a wild animal? It's like playing in traffic. Eventually you are going to get hit.

They have to mess with them so they can tell us we shouldn't mess with them! Besides, they got taken out by a "bear" and made the news...think about the 1000's of others across this country that get taken out by a "beer" and get nothing!

I finished watching the video link just now. I was stunned that Timothy and his girlfriend never took a gun and he said he would never kill a bear for any reason.

I sum up my thoughts on this incident and his previous bear encounters as "death wish" and his wish came true. I can't imagine that his videos and book will be viewed in the manner he originally intended. I find allot of irony in this unfortunate circumstance.

Very sad story with a very predictible ending.

Sherileeaz

think about the 1000's of others across this country that get taken out by a "beer" and get nothing!

I always get something...........a hangover!! Or is it....under

I have been too close to some wild animals before, both by blundering into them and also by stupidity (trying to see how close I could get) I don't care if it's a racoon or a beaver, an elk or a deer and especially a bear, NONE are predictable, they can go from calm to enraged for no particular reason in a heartbeat.