An advocate of grizzly bear protection and his camping companion were mauled to death by one or more bears in a remote part of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, officials said Tuesday. Killed were Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, California, said the National Park Service and the Alaska State Troopers. Treadwell was the founder of Grizzly People, an organization devoted to the protection of grizzly bears and their habitat. According to the group’s Web site, Treadwell’s practice was to travel to bear country without weapons. Treadwell, a former drug addict, was featured on the Web site of actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio. According to a biography on the site, Treadwell beat his addiction by spending time in the Alaskan wilderness, where he developed his fondness for bears.
Who says drug use doesn’t cause brain damage?
The deaths were discovered when an air-taxi pilot flew to the site Monday afternoon to pick up the campers. He found the campsite damaged and a brown bear atop what appeared to be a human body, eating the remains.
Humm, tastes like environmentalist!
When park rangers and state troopers flew to the remote site to recover the bodies, they had to kill two aggressive bears that were threatening them, officials said.
PETA will be upset.
The service had cautioned Treadwell for several years about his bear-safety practices, spokesman John Quinley said. Treadwell made a practice of getting within inches of the animals, but the Park Service recommends a 50-yard distance, he said.
And a heavy caliber weapon. |