Prances with Bears

            Timothy Treadwell was a quite interesting man.  I’ve never heard of anyone else living, or even wanting to live with grizzly bears.  What kind of crazy maniac would go live with these ferocious beasts?  Treadwell however felt that it was his duty to serve and protect these grizzlies in Alaska since the government wasn’t doing a good enough job.  Poachers, fishermen, and commercial people were harming these bears and Treadwell’s “duty” was to save these bears.

           

          There’s many arguments surrounding the mental sanity (or insanity) of Treadwell.  First of all, who just up and leaves society to go prance around with a bunch of bears?  I mean, it’s not like they’re the most harmful creatures on the face of Alaska or anything.  Of course, he was doing this for “research” and to achieve a better understanding of these bears.  Why he couldn’t just pick up a book and read about them is beyond me.  Of course, some people learn best hands-on, but to get hands on with bears seems just a little bit risky to me.

           

          During the last few years of his voyages to Alaska, Treadwell took a video camera along with him and shot over 100 hours of film.  These clips were used to help make the documentary “Grizzly Man” which told the story of Treadwell.  While watching this documentary, one might find themselves thinking, “Hmmm…this guy seems like a nut job.”  However, there is no substantial evidence to prove that Treadwell was insane.  It’s not like he talked with animals like they were humans and reamed out the nonexistent people that were there.

           

           Treadwell’s solution to every problem seemed to be a few strong words.  Actually, there was mainly one word that he seemed to favor over the others.  I don’t see how a man who went to schools to teach children about these bears could have such a bad vocabulary.  I cannot believe that he kissed his mother with that mouth.  A good bar of soap in the mouth might’ve done Treadwell some good.

           

          Looking past the fact that Treadwell got killed by one of his “special friends” a.k.a. a bear, he proved that these creatures can be peaceful and gentle.  I feel like I know him in a strange way.  I think that everyone knows a Treadwell in their life.  He’s like that crazy neighbor that you have that walks around their house naked.  Treadwell has touched the lives of many people, and his legacy will live on.

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