Grizzly Man

I'm out in the prime cut

of the big green.

Behind me is Ed and Rowdy, members

of an up-and-coming subadult gang.

They're challenging everything, including me.

Goes with the territory.

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 decapitate me,

they will chop me into bits and pieces.

I'm dead.

But so far, I persevere.

Persevere.

Most times

I'm a kind warrior out here.

Most times, I am gentle,

I am like a flower,

I'm like... I'm like

a fly on the wall,

observing, noncommittal,

noninvasive in any way.

Occasionally I am challenged.

And in that case,

the kind warrior must,

must, must become a samurai.

Must become so,

so formidable,

so fearless of death,

so strong

that he will win, he will win.

Even the bears will believe

that you are more powerful.

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'll be one of them.

I will be... the master.

But still a kind warrior.

Love you, Rowdy.

Give it to me, baby.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

I can smell death

all over my fingers.

All these majestic creatures were filmed

by Timothy Treadwell

who lived among wild grizzlies

for 13 summers.

He went to remote areas

of the Alaskan peninsula

believing that

he was needed there

to protect these animals

and educate the public.

During his last five years

out there,

he took along a video camera

and shot over 100 hours

of footage.

What Treadwell intended was to show

these bears in their natural habitat.

Having myself filmed

in the wilderness of jungles,

I found that beyond

the wildlife film,

in his material lay

dormant a story

of astonishing beauty

and depth.

I discovered a film

of human ecstasies

and darkest inner turmoil.

As if there was

a desire in him

to leave the confinements

of his humanness

and bond with the bears,

Treadwell reached out,

seeking a primordial encounter.

But in doing so, he crossed

an invisible borderline.

Go back and play.

Go ahead back. Go back.

Go back.

This is a subadult.

And this is what happens to them.

They work together,

and they get really powerful.

As you can see,

I'm just feet away.

You just relax.

You just relax.

He's now moving away from me.

I've now proven myself as being able to hold

my ground and therefore earning their respect.

This is Rowdy, the bear.

And he's rowdy.

He's gettin' bigger.

Knew him from... He was a little dot

a couple of years ago.

He's gettin' to be a big boy.

Anyway, we're doing just fine.

But that was a challenge,

and you have to remain cool

in the challenge, in the moment.

If you don't, you're dead.

They can kill. They can bite.

They can decapitate.

Excuse me. Hey.

Hey!

It's okay, it's okay. It's okay.

I didn't mean to get in your way.

Wow. It's okay.

You're the boss.

Nice job. Wow! Nice job.

I gotta think, he was over ten-feet high,

don't you?

He's a big bear!

He's a big bear!

A very big bear! Wow!

Anyway, he's over here

rub-a-dub-dubbing.

He's a big bear!

The excitement Treadwell felt

connected him immediately

with children.

In his campaign

to create awareness,

he reached thousands and thousands

of school children

who would remember

his fabulous storytelling

as one of the highlights

of their school years.

He took his mission

so seriously

that he never solicited for a fee.

Over time, he reached the status

of a national celebrity.

Timothy Treadwell is crazy

about grizzly bears.

How crazy? Sometimes...

It was as if he had become a star

by virtue of his own invention.

I would be within

the physical presence of bears

for months at a time.

This is... crazy.

This is nuts.

These are the most dangerous animals

on the face of the earth.

- Well...

- And you want to go

and put yourself in harm's way

I think they've been misunderstood.

How can I believe that if you are

about to be killed by a bear,

that you wouldn't say, "I made a mistake.

I'd like to have a gun"?

I would never, ever kill a bear

in defense of my own life.

Would not go into a bear's home

and kill a bear.

One day, I came home

and I was sitting on my patio.

My wife was in the bedroom

with the TV on.

And I heard her scream.

And I thought

she'd fallen or something.

I came in and she was sitting

on the edge of the bed,

staring at the television.

I looked at the television,

and I saw Timmy's face.

I hadn't heard the sound

or the news yet,

but I knew just by seeing

Timmy's face on TV

and hearing

my wife's reaction,

that the worst had happened.

Not necessarily a surprise,

but... the worst.

I never have days

when I grieve for Timmy

as I have with other friends

who have died.

They feel dead.

Timmy doesn't feel dead.

This is the last photo

of Timothy Treadwell.

It was taken at the beginning

of his 13th summer

in the wilds of Alaska.

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