Camilla Jessen
A audio recording captured his last words.
Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers living among wild bears until his final expedition ended in a fatal encounter that was recorded in detail.
Who Was the “Grizzly Man”
Timothy Treadwell wasn’t always the “Grizzly Man.”
Before he became a wildlife advocate, Treadwell was struggling with addiction. A heroin overdose nearly killed him in the late 1980s.
A trip to Alaska changed everything. There, he discovered a deep connection with wild grizzly bears, and from that moment on, dedicated his life to protecting them.
In his memoir Among Grizzlies, he wrote that his healing began the day he locked eyes with a bear in the wild. That moment, he believed, gave his life purpose.
Life Among the Bears
Treadwell returned to Katmai National Park every summer for 13 years, often camping alone for months. Over time, he developed what he believed was a unique trust with the grizzlies.
He filmed hours of footage, talked to the animals, and treated them almost like friends.
Experts Weigh In
But experts warned that his approach was dangerously naïve.
“He was crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed,” said Werner Herzog, who later directed the documentary Grizzly Man about Treadwell’s life and death.
Herzog added, “He thought he could become part of their world.”
The Fatal Expedition
In October 2003, Treadwell returned for one final trip, this time accompanied by his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard.
The two camped deeper into the season than usual, at a time when food was scarce and bears were desperate to fatten up before winter.
Just days before the attack, Treadwell recorded a bear that appeared more aggressive than the others. In his final footage, he expressed unease about the animal.
The Final Audio Recording
After the attack, authorities recovered a video camera from the couple’s tent. While the lens cap was still on, a six-minute audio recording inside captured the moments of their deaths.
As cited by Newsner, Treadwell is heard yelling, “Come out here; I’m being killed out here!” as he’s attacked.
Amie rushes to unzip the tent, begging him to “play dead” and trying to scare the bear off. For a moment, it retreats. But it comes back.
“Hit the Bear”
As the attack continues, Treadwell pleads with her to “hit the bear”, while she screams for him to fight back. Eventually, his voice fades.
Her screams are the last thing on the tape.
The Alaska State Troopers later shot a 28-year-old brown bear near the camp. Inside its stomach, they found human remains and pieces of clothing belonging to both Treadwell and Huguenard.
What Went Wrong?
Why the bear attacked remains debated, but several factors likely played a role.
Treadwell and Huguenard were camped late in the season, when bears are hungriest. They had also camped near a salmon stream that had run dry.
Bears were competing aggressively for the last remaining food.
Wildlife expert Larry Van Daele suggested that Amie’s screams might have triggered a predatory response.
A Legacy of Controversy
Treadwell’s death sparked intense debate. Some viewed him as a passionate conservationist, others saw him as reckless and deluded.
But no one denies the impact his story had on public awareness about wild animals and the dangers of overstepping boundaries with them.
As Werner Herzog put it in Grizzly Man:
“What haunts me is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature.”
