Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were killed and eaten in October 2003 by an Alaskan grizzly bear.
Here is a still image captured from some of the last video footage that Treadwell shot, which is included in Herzog's documentary, 'Grizzly Man' —
And here is a transcription of a portion of Werner Herzog's naration from 'Grizzly Man', where Herzog describes his overall impression of grizzly bear behavior documented in Timothy Treadwell's video footage of the Alaskan grizzlies, and, in particular, the stare of the grizzly captured from Treadwell's footage in the snapshot above —
... And 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. To me, there is no such thing as a secret world of the bears. And this blank stare speaks only of a half-bored interest in food. But for Timothy Treadwell, this bear was a friend, a savior. ...
Here are two more still images captured from Treadwell's video footage, where Treadwell is within arms reach of one bear, while another bear is just out of the camera's view. In the second shot you can see that Treadwell reaches out with his index finger and nearly touches the bear's nose —
Looking at the images above, do you think that bear is trying to decide if Timothy would make a good playmate, or whether Timothy is prey, and should be eaten as a good day's meal?
If you watch the actual sequence in 'Grizzly Man', Treadwell almost gives the impression that he is interacting with a couple of dog puppies, speaking in a kind of 'baby talk' voice. Earlier in 'Grizzly Man', Treadwell openly discusses the danger of interacting with the bears, and that they will 'decapitate you', if you do not make them believe you are 'more powerful' —
... If I show weakness, if I retreat, I may be hurt, I may be killed. I must hold my own, if I'm gonna stay within this land. For once there is weakness, they will exploit it, they will take me out, they will decaptitate me, they will chop me into bits and pieces. I'm dead. But so far, I persevere. Most times I'm a kind warrior out here.
...
And in a sense you must be more powerful, if you are to survive in this land with the bear. No one knew that. No one ever friggin' knew that there are times when my life is on the precipice of death, and that these bears can bite, they can kill. And if I am weak, I go down. I love them with all my heart. I will protect them. I will die for them, but I will not die at their claws and paws. I will fight. I will be strong. I will be one of them. I will be ... the master. But still a kind warrior. ...
It is tragically sad to hear Treadwell say those words in his video footage. He gives the impression that he comprehends the danger, but at the same time he holds the deluded notion that he is in some kind of psychological game with the bears, and that he has the ability to manage and control the threat.
His words became prophetic, because he had no real understanding of how wrong he was.
