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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Shuckins on May 09, 2004, 12:46:03 AM

Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Shuckins on May 09, 2004, 12:46:03 AM
Timothy Treadwell, 46, emerged from a period of serious drug and alcohol abuse with the conviction that he was meant to be an eco-warrior.

From June to October of each year he lived alone in a tent on the Alaskan peninsula among brown bears...sans fire or any means of self-defense, even bear spray.  He saw himself as their protector against poachers and even licensed hunters.

Photographing, videotaping, and keeping meticulous diaries, Treadwell lived among the great bears.  Christening them with names such as Booble, Freckles, and Mr. Chocolate, he sometimes crawled among the alders with them and, at distances of mere feet, would croon "I love you."

Armed with pictures and colorful tales, Treadwell visited elementary schools to educate thousands of children with his view of brown bears.  He once boasted that it would be an honor "to end up in bear scat."  In September of 2003, Treadwell wrote Colorado rancer and financial supporter Roland Dixon:  "My transformation is complete - a fully accepted wild animal - brother of these bears.  I run free among them - with absolute love and respect for all the animals.  I am kind and viciously tough."  He al

Apparently, not tough enough.  Qualified behaviorists know that any wild animal exposed long enough to a human being loses all respect for that human being and attempts to dominate them.

Last October, one of the great boars had enough of Treadwell and mauled him to death in broad daylight in Katmai National Park and Preserve.  A bush pilot flying in to pick up Treadwell sighted his flattened tent.  An old boar was perched on his partially buried remains.  What remained of his body, which was largely eaten, were found near the body of his 37-year-old girlfriend.

Park rangers and state troopers called to the scene had to kill the bear guarding the remains - as well as a second that was stalking them.
_____________________________ ___________

A tragedy...but one that a little common sense could have averted.  Unfortunately, it is a tragedy that is likely to occur with greater frequency as more and more people whose views of nature are compose largely of gossamer wings and fairy dust, venture into the wild.

Shuckins/Leggern
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: SOB on May 09, 2004, 12:48:40 AM
Poor Bears.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Nash on May 09, 2004, 01:17:04 AM
This bear was merely a bad apple in a herd of decent bears eating berries with high honor.

LOL...

(I don't even get it... sue me)
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Leslie on May 09, 2004, 02:03:06 AM
Thing is, the guy lived alone in the wilderness.  Maybe the bears had gotten used to him being alone, and when he brought his girlfriend along, the bears changed their defensive patterns to survival mode, so to speak...not knowing if the newcomer was a threat or not.  Or possibly a meal.

If the guy was running off hunters, it's possible other wildlife such as deer, etc. were eating all the berries, and maybe starving the bears to where they had to eat something.

Tragic example of the road to hell being paved with good intentions.  Though that is my opinion, and I know nothing about the habits of bears.  Loss of habitat makes for lean pickings in some places.  A scientific approach seeks to balance wildlife through management of populations to the amount of food available in any specific area.

This fellow, though good intentioned and with a noble cause, needed to learn more about what he was doing.  Though perhaps much was learned from his efforts, it wasn't worth two lives.  Three if you count the bear's.





Les
Title: Re: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: rpm on May 09, 2004, 02:17:17 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Shuckins
What remained of his body, which was largely eaten, were found near the body of his 37-year-old girlfriend.

Wait, he had a chick that actually lived with him? Tell me, who was the bigger fool?
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: _Schadenfreude_ on May 09, 2004, 03:21:59 AM
37 year old single women....in my experience...are mostly crazy...
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Ghosth on May 09, 2004, 08:29:19 AM
What those bears mostly need is space.

Peace & quiet with lots of room, NOT guys running around wanting to BE one.

Well he is one now, and I suspect he's learned his lession.

Pity they shot the bear that ate him.

THAT was a waste.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Batz on May 09, 2004, 08:46:43 AM
Why didn't he just hand over the picnic basket?
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: eskimo2 on May 09, 2004, 09:00:24 AM
This took place near a salmon river with plenty of food and lots of bears.  If I recall, his girlfriend had spent a few summers with him at this location.  They both were from California, where they wintered.   He was to bears what Diane Fossy and Jane Goodall were to Gorillas and Chimpanzees, EXCEPT that he was not a real scientist and was not supported or endorsed by any organization.  The park rangers were not crazy about his exploits, and he had given up carrying bear spray for the past few seasons.  In spite of the fact that he was a nut, he was a bear expert.  He should have known, however, that bears can be very unpredictable.  Then again, he may have wanted to be mauled and eaten.

eskimo
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: DiabloTX on May 09, 2004, 09:26:25 AM
Quote
Originally posted by eskimo2
They both were from California...


Well, I think we have answered the "why" question.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: lazs2 on May 09, 2004, 09:36:28 AM
two less votes for kerry.

lazs
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Leslie on May 09, 2004, 09:42:41 AM
We had Bear Bryant in Alabama.  He got that name from wrestling a black bear and beating him.  They don't make that kind today.  He became Alabama's football coach just because of that.:D




Les
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Tuomio on May 09, 2004, 09:47:20 AM
Mmmmmm beeeeer
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Maverick on May 09, 2004, 10:06:33 AM
Darwin in action. The bear just helped clean up the gene pool a bit.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Toad on May 09, 2004, 10:11:51 AM
Jeez, Laz....... not while I'm drinking coffee! Please!
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Kanth on May 09, 2004, 10:38:22 AM
This normally only happens with really haggy chicks tho, if she were like big boobed, the bears would have let them live. There was a whole show on this on Discovery Channel last week.


Quote
Originally posted by Leslie
when he brought his girlfriend along, the bears changed their defensive patterns to survival mode, so to speak
Les
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Leslie on May 09, 2004, 11:21:45 AM
My opinion has nothing to do with big boobs and such.  It has to do with respect, and well, you know the rest...




Les:)
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: eskimo2 on May 09, 2004, 12:15:58 PM
(http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/West/10/09/bear.attack.ap/story.bear.mauling.ap.jpg)

Expert: Fatal bear attack a tragedy for all sides  (http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2003/10/12/build/wildlife/bearattack.php?nnn=6)

Another article:

Timothy Treadwell Bear Attack Audio Tape
Alaska Bear Mauling Recorded on Tape

By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The graphic sounds of a deadly bear attack in the Alaska wilderness were captured on tape, revealing a wildlife author's final, frantic screams as he tried to fend off the beast, authorities said Wednesday.

Trooper Chris Hill said the tape suggests a video camera was turned on just before Timothy Treadwell was attacked at his campsite. His girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, was later mauled to death by a bear. The recording is audio only, and the screen is blank for all six minutes.

"They're both screaming, she's telling him to play dead, then it changes to fighting back. He asks her to hit the bear," Hill said. "There's so much noise going on. I don't know what's him and what might be an animal.

"It's pretty disturbing. I keep hearing it in my mind."

The remains of Treadwell, 46, and Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were found Monday at Katmai National Park and Preserve on the Alaska Peninsula. Treadwell was known for approaching, even touching, bears in the wild.

An air taxi pilot who arrived to pick up the couple contacted the National Park Service and troopers to report a brown bear was apparently sitting on top of human remains in the camp.

A ranger shot and killed a large brown bear when the animal charged at them through the dense brush. Troopers and rangers later killed a smaller bear apparently stalking them.

Hill said he was stunned by what he heard on the tape.

"The audio starts while he's being mauled and ends while he's being mauled," Hill said.

Treadwell may have heard a bear and asked Huguenard to turn on the camera, which was found with the lens cap on and packed in a camera bag, Hill said.

"At first, she sounds kind of surprised and asks if it's still out there. I'm not sure if she was asking if a bear was outside their tent or in the brush," Hill said. "The audio stops because the tape runs out. Otherwise, it probably would have captured the whole thing."

Hill said he will attempt to transcribe the tape. But there are no plans to make the recording or transcripts public, trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said.

Troopers recovered video and still photography equipment as well as three hours of earlier video footage from the site, across Shelikof Strait from Kodiak Island.

Much of the footage is close-up shots of bears. Some scenes show bears no more than a few feet from Treadwell, co-author of "Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska." Others show a more timid Huguenard leaning away as bears come close to her on the bank of a river.

Rebecca Dmytryk, who oversees an animal rescue organization in Malibu, recalled other video footage of Treadwell before his death that showed him in a streambed near an older bear he nicknamed "Quincy."

"Quincy, do you remember when you stood over me? You were so hungry, and you should have eaten me, but you didn't. Thanks for not eating me, Quincy," Dmytryk recalled him saying to the bear in the clip. "If Quincy had eaten me, good, 'cause he's a nice bear."

Treadwell's family was in shock over the death.
"I was dumbfounded, ready to fall through the floor," said his father, Valentin Dexter, who lives in Pompano Beach, Fla.

All this cutting and pasting, I feel like Ripsnort!

eskimo
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: storch on May 09, 2004, 12:32:43 PM
oh my.  I hope the bear doesn't suffer indigestion.  liberals are bad for you, even you're a bear.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Kanth on May 09, 2004, 12:36:10 PM
little more cutting and pasting

Quote
Again came the warnings from park rangers, game wardens and biologists. To venture so close to a wild animal puts both you and the animal at risk, they said.


Again, Treadwell waved them off, emphatic that the bears would do him no harm. And if they did, he said, he would be honored “to end up in bear scat.”


Good enough for a head stone, I'd say.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Steve on May 09, 2004, 12:58:43 PM
Look at that picture!!!  Has anyone heard from David Lee Roth lately?
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: rpm on May 09, 2004, 01:13:37 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Leslie
We had Bear Bryant in Alabama.  He got that name from wrestling a black bear and beating him.  They don't make that kind today.  He became Alabama's football coach just because of that.:D
C'mon Les. They did'nt even look at his Texas A&M record? :)
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: GtoRA2 on May 09, 2004, 01:16:39 PM
What at idiot, he is responsible for his own death, another humans and the things he said he cared about.

That's what you get when you let idiots do **** you shouldn't


I feel sorry for the bears.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Leslie on May 09, 2004, 02:16:50 PM
Quote
Originally posted by rpm371
C'mon Les. They did'nt even look at his Texas A&M record? :)



But I'm an Auburn fan.   Try to play Auburn and you're in for a surprise.  Auburn is the superior football team, and also superior in academics.





Les
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: SavedSaint on May 09, 2004, 03:09:18 PM
is this the one with the picture of the guy laying naked with only bone for legs.

it has to be the most greusome picture of a person ever.

i tried copying it for internet once but did not succeed..
didn't think anyone would host it for me...

anyway.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Sixpence on May 09, 2004, 03:17:23 PM
How many people get the chance to die doing something they love? He should be a hero.
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Leslie on May 09, 2004, 03:27:33 PM
:D
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Leslie on May 09, 2004, 03:52:07 PM
The movie that scared me to death was the one with the robots that wore scuba masks and projected a death ray that instantly skeletionized anything it came across, people swiming in pools, even dogs that came up in a friendly way.

At the end of the movie, the hero and heroiness escaped by going in a clothing store and up several floors.  It was the most surrealistic thing I'd ever seen, and was very scary for a science fiction movie.  The robot was after them, and had the death ray.  It killed a dog and a girl swimming in a swimming pool.  Her body turned into a skeleton while she was swimming in the pool.  And the good guys were right there to see it.  Same thing happened to the dog.

I'll never forget that.  And though it is silly, it scared the hell out of me when I watched that on TV.  I was 5 years old.  










Les
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: Tuomio on May 09, 2004, 05:36:15 PM
Yeah, being mauled by a bear is one thing, but watching scifi movie about death ray robots is teh horror! :p
Title: Ursa Horribilis...or How to Win the Coveted Darwin Award
Post by: IK0N on May 09, 2004, 06:39:58 PM
This is what it sounded like "ahhhhaaahhhhahahhhggghghghhhr rrraaaahhhhhaaaauuuummmffffsc rrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeee"

I saw the movie on TMC the other day really...

IKON