25 Facts About Timothy Treadwell

Timothy Treadwell lived among coastal brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska, for 13 summers.

Timothy Treadwell was born in Mineola, Long Island, New York, one of five children of Val Dexter and Carol Ann.

Timothy Treadwell attended Connetquot High School, where he was the swimming team's star diver.

Timothy Treadwell was very fond of animals and kept a squirrel named Willie as a pet.

Timothy Treadwell attended Bradley University on a swimming and diving scholarship.

Timothy Treadwell's father said Treadwell "spiraled down" and developed an alcohol abuse disorder after he lost the role of Woody Boyd to Woody Harrelson in the sitcom Cheers.

Timothy Treadwell wrote that after his first encounter with a wild bear, he knew he had found his calling in life, and that his destiny was entwined with those of the bears.

Timothy Treadwell attributed his recovery from drug and alcohol addictions entirely to his relationship with bears.

Timothy Treadwell was known for getting extremely close to the bears he observed, sometimes even touching them and playing with bear cubs.

Timothy Treadwell habitually named the bears he encountered and consistently saw many of the same bears each summer and thus claimed to be building a standing relationship with them.

Timothy Treadwell recorded almost 100 hours of video footage and produced a large collection of still photographs.

Timothy Treadwell traveled throughout the United States to educate school children about bears and appeared on the Discovery Channel, the Late Show with David Letterman, and Dateline NBC to discuss his experiences.

Timothy Treadwell cowrote Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska with Jewel Palovak, which describes Treadwell's adventures on the Alaska Peninsula.

Timothy Treadwell claimed to be alone with the wildlife on several occasions in his videos; however, his girlfriend, Amie, can be heard behind the camera in much of the footage he took for his documentary during his last three summers.

Russell advised Timothy Treadwell to carry pepper spray and use electric fences.

In spite of his criticism of Timothy Treadwell, Russell praised him for his devotion to bears and his ability to remain alive for so long.

In Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog states that Timothy Treadwell had written in his diaries that Huguenard feared bears and felt very uncomfortable in their presence.

Timothy Treadwell set his campsite near a salmon stream where wild bears commonly feed in autumn.

Timothy Treadwell was in the park later in the year than normal, at a time when bears attempt to gain as much fat as possible before winter.

Timothy Treadwell wanted to locate a favorite female brown bear about which he was concerned.

The bears he was familiar with during the summer had already gone into torpor, and bears from other parts of the park that did not know Timothy Treadwell were moving into the area.

Timothy Treadwell mentioned in the footage that he did not feel entirely comfortable around that particular bear.

In Grizzly Man, Herzog speculates on whether Timothy Treadwell filmed the very bear who killed him.

Around noon on Sunday, October 5,2003, Timothy Treadwell spoke with an associate in Malibu, California, by satellite phone; he mentioned no problems with any bears.

The tape begins with Timothy Treadwell yelling that he is being attacked.