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Final Treadwell Comments
Posted by Michael Strahan on Feb 05 2006
Bigmnt,
I'd normally disagree with those who say you have to see the video to comment on it (and I'm sure we'll hear some of that), but in this case I think your perspective would change if you saw the film. Don't watch the edited for TV version either; check out the DVD at your local video store. It does a much better job of capturing his persona.
I've wondered if it is appropriate to comment on Mr. Treadwell's personal life, but in this case perhaps it is. The film portrays him as an unstable individual with a drug problem and some misunderstandings about the relationship between humans and animals. When you watch the film, you'll see how upset he gets over the death of a fox, as if he doesn't understand that most wild animals die a violent death. I have to question the reliability of any information he provided considering his failure to grasp simple and obvious truths about poaching in the Hallo Bay area and the role of hunters in general. He made some outlandish claims about hunting and even claimed to be protecting bears from poaching in that area. I don't know that there has EVER been a single case of poaching brown bears in that area; it's in a National Park! In fact, the irony of the whole thing is that he was illegally camping on that site, in direct violation of regulations that were put in place specifically to prevent the sort of encounters that led to his death. If he didn't understand (or agree with) even these basic facts, how is his "research" supposed to receive any credibility? If it's good stuff, then surely respected bear biologists would come out in support of it. But the truth is that a well-respected ADFG bear biologist from Kodiak Island is actually documented on the video as coming out AGAINST what Treadwell was doing. No, I see no evidence at all that what he was doing resulted in anything of value to the science of bear management.
I agree with you regarding his tenacity and his belief that he was doing "the right thing", however I must come back to the ultimate value of his work. Were new discoveries made? What do we understand about bears that was not already known? What contribution to the public resulted from his years of film activity? While I believe each person on this earth has intrinsic value, I sometimes question the value and permanence of some of our work. The harsh reality is that you can spend a lot of energy on something that's a complete waste of time. I seriously question your statement that we can learn a lot from Treadwell's films (of a positive nature).
I should say that I could be persuaded by a list of specifics. What do you believe he contributed that we did not already know?
-Mike
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