Montanan
11-03-2005, 08:13 AM
As bear film debuts, some worry about its message
News Link (http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/11/03/news/local/news04.prt)
By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian
The troubled life and death of bear activist Tim Treadwell finally makes its way to the silver screen in Missoula this week.
The film “Grizzly Man,” directed and narrated by German filmmaker Werner Herzog opens at the Carmike 10 on Friday. But accompanying the film's Missoula debut will be a panel of bear experts concerned about the message Treadwell's behavior in the film seems to promote.
“Tim's behavior makes it seem like a good idea to get up close and personal with brown bears,” said Chuck Bartlebaugh, of the Missoula-based Center for Wildlife Information. “He wanted to depict bears as this cuddly species that we could all get out there and pet. That's just so wrong.”
After the 7:15 p.m. screening of “Grizzly Man,” Bartlebaugh and three others will speak briefly about the film and Treadwell, then take questions. Joining Bartlebaugh will be: Chris Servheen, national grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Sterling Miller, a National Wildlife Federation biologist with a long history in Alaskan wildlife issues; and Mike Lipinski, author of a book about Treadwell, “Death in the Grizzly Maze.”
Bartlebaugh said the panel will take particular care to urge people not to approach bears the way Treadwell did.
“This whole thing has already led some people to believe that you can get up close and snuggly with bears, and that's got to be corrected,” he said. “This is a particularly important issue, especially in Montana, which is one of the last wild states.”
Treadwell, 46, and his girlfriend, 37-year-old Amie Huguenard, were killed by brown bears in October 2003. The couple had been camped at an intersection of trails used by Alaskan brown bears in Katmai National Park.
Treadwell had been camping with the bears for 13 summers, pushing the limits of interaction with wildlife by approaching the huge bears and interacting with them. Treadwell, who founded the group Grizzly People, even filmed himself saying, “I love you, I love you,” as he crept ever closer to a bear.
He'd gained a measure of fame with a book about his time with brown bears, appearing on news shows and the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
In the end, though, Treadwell paid for his fixation with bears with his life, a fate he'd all but predicted for himself.
Herzog's film depicts Treadwell as a psychologically complex figure, a former drug abuser who still suffered mental instability in his quest to “protect” bears. Treadwell was grandiose and naive in his effort to integrate his life with those of bears, but he was also a fierce advocate for the bruins.
Bear experts like Bartlebaugh didn't begrudge Treadwell his sense of connection with bears and his willingness to work on their behalf, but his methods were beyond troubling. And ultimately, his methods cast his entire operation in a troubling light.
“Tim made all sorts of claims about his work that weren't true, and he promised to change his methods, but he never really did,” Bartlebaugh said.
Bartlebaugh, in fact, worked with Treadwell, trying to alter the message he delivered when he talked with school groups. Some bear advocates have stressed that Treadwell actually did some good for bears by educating children about them, and Bartlebaugh worked on an educational supplement for him to use in schools.
“Ultimately, Tim chose not to use it, and that was too bad,” Bartlebaugh said.
That was pretty typical of Treadwell, Bartlebaugh said. Rangers at Katmai had told Treadwell to “cease and desist” his interaction with bears, and Bartlebaugh had urged him to change his methods.
Bartlebaugh talked to Treadwell before he headed to Alaska for his final summer, and he reminded him of his pledge not to harass bears by being too close to them. Treadwell had also promised not to take Huguenard into Katmai again.
But video from Treadwell's last summer with the bears told a much different story. Treadwell's camp was plunked down on a veritable bear highway, in dense brush. Video showed him coming closer and closer to bears and, of course, Huguenard was there.
“Everything he'd promised not to do he did,” Bartlebaugh said. “The sad thing is that people knew he was in trouble because of his behavior, and yet he still was up there doing his thing.”
Herzog's film uses footage from more than 100 hours of video taken of Treadwell's interactions with bears, and that footage is often the most searing indictment of his methods. He turns his back on bears. He's close by when they're exhibiting aggressive postures. And time and time again, he gets extremely close to bears.
Treadwell thought he'd become a brother to bears, but Bartlebaugh said the bears more than likely found him to be a curiosity at best and more likely a nuisance.
“There were 60 bears in the immediate area, and it's probable that he interrupted nearly all of their regular behavior patterns,” Bartlebaugh said. “We need to make sure people understand that that's not a way to be an advocate for bears, no matter how much you think you're helping them.”
Bartlebaugh isn't discouraging people from seeing the film, which won considerable praise from critics. Although Herzog seems to have something of a soft spot for Treadwell, he lets Treadwell's own behavior speak for itself.
“I wish the film had offered more of the Park Service's position on what Tim was doing,” he said. “But I do think people can pick up on what Tim did wrong just by watching him.”
Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or at mmoore@missoulian.com.
News Link (http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/11/03/news/local/news04.prt)
By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian
The troubled life and death of bear activist Tim Treadwell finally makes its way to the silver screen in Missoula this week.
The film “Grizzly Man,” directed and narrated by German filmmaker Werner Herzog opens at the Carmike 10 on Friday. But accompanying the film's Missoula debut will be a panel of bear experts concerned about the message Treadwell's behavior in the film seems to promote.
“Tim's behavior makes it seem like a good idea to get up close and personal with brown bears,” said Chuck Bartlebaugh, of the Missoula-based Center for Wildlife Information. “He wanted to depict bears as this cuddly species that we could all get out there and pet. That's just so wrong.”
After the 7:15 p.m. screening of “Grizzly Man,” Bartlebaugh and three others will speak briefly about the film and Treadwell, then take questions. Joining Bartlebaugh will be: Chris Servheen, national grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Sterling Miller, a National Wildlife Federation biologist with a long history in Alaskan wildlife issues; and Mike Lipinski, author of a book about Treadwell, “Death in the Grizzly Maze.”
Bartlebaugh said the panel will take particular care to urge people not to approach bears the way Treadwell did.
“This whole thing has already led some people to believe that you can get up close and snuggly with bears, and that's got to be corrected,” he said. “This is a particularly important issue, especially in Montana, which is one of the last wild states.”
Treadwell, 46, and his girlfriend, 37-year-old Amie Huguenard, were killed by brown bears in October 2003. The couple had been camped at an intersection of trails used by Alaskan brown bears in Katmai National Park.
Treadwell had been camping with the bears for 13 summers, pushing the limits of interaction with wildlife by approaching the huge bears and interacting with them. Treadwell, who founded the group Grizzly People, even filmed himself saying, “I love you, I love you,” as he crept ever closer to a bear.
He'd gained a measure of fame with a book about his time with brown bears, appearing on news shows and the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
In the end, though, Treadwell paid for his fixation with bears with his life, a fate he'd all but predicted for himself.
Herzog's film depicts Treadwell as a psychologically complex figure, a former drug abuser who still suffered mental instability in his quest to “protect” bears. Treadwell was grandiose and naive in his effort to integrate his life with those of bears, but he was also a fierce advocate for the bruins.
Bear experts like Bartlebaugh didn't begrudge Treadwell his sense of connection with bears and his willingness to work on their behalf, but his methods were beyond troubling. And ultimately, his methods cast his entire operation in a troubling light.
“Tim made all sorts of claims about his work that weren't true, and he promised to change his methods, but he never really did,” Bartlebaugh said.
Bartlebaugh, in fact, worked with Treadwell, trying to alter the message he delivered when he talked with school groups. Some bear advocates have stressed that Treadwell actually did some good for bears by educating children about them, and Bartlebaugh worked on an educational supplement for him to use in schools.
“Ultimately, Tim chose not to use it, and that was too bad,” Bartlebaugh said.
That was pretty typical of Treadwell, Bartlebaugh said. Rangers at Katmai had told Treadwell to “cease and desist” his interaction with bears, and Bartlebaugh had urged him to change his methods.
Bartlebaugh talked to Treadwell before he headed to Alaska for his final summer, and he reminded him of his pledge not to harass bears by being too close to them. Treadwell had also promised not to take Huguenard into Katmai again.
But video from Treadwell's last summer with the bears told a much different story. Treadwell's camp was plunked down on a veritable bear highway, in dense brush. Video showed him coming closer and closer to bears and, of course, Huguenard was there.
“Everything he'd promised not to do he did,” Bartlebaugh said. “The sad thing is that people knew he was in trouble because of his behavior, and yet he still was up there doing his thing.”
Herzog's film uses footage from more than 100 hours of video taken of Treadwell's interactions with bears, and that footage is often the most searing indictment of his methods. He turns his back on bears. He's close by when they're exhibiting aggressive postures. And time and time again, he gets extremely close to bears.
Treadwell thought he'd become a brother to bears, but Bartlebaugh said the bears more than likely found him to be a curiosity at best and more likely a nuisance.
“There were 60 bears in the immediate area, and it's probable that he interrupted nearly all of their regular behavior patterns,” Bartlebaugh said. “We need to make sure people understand that that's not a way to be an advocate for bears, no matter how much you think you're helping them.”
Bartlebaugh isn't discouraging people from seeing the film, which won considerable praise from critics. Although Herzog seems to have something of a soft spot for Treadwell, he lets Treadwell's own behavior speak for itself.
“I wish the film had offered more of the Park Service's position on what Tim was doing,” he said. “But I do think people can pick up on what Tim did wrong just by watching him.”
Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or at mmoore@missoulian.com.