Study Questions: Grizzly Man

I am not sure I can respond to Dr. Hepworth's questions in an objective manner. I don't really view myself as a conservationist though I have been involved with efforts involving conservation. I don't agree with the approach Treadwell took in his efforts at conservation. At the same time, I have to give him credit for giving his efforts the college try.

I gained some insight from our conversation we had Wednesday in clsas. I like to think that I see things but when we discussed the movie in class, I realize some of my views are fairly well polarized and I don't see beyond my own nose. Therefore, some of my responses to these questions will be based on what I heard in class and my fresh perspective on Treadwell's efforts at conservation.

Treadwell, as others pointed out in their discussion, viewed himself as the savior or protector of these particular bears. This strikes me as true, to a certain extent, if the number of poaches went down while he was 'on watch'. He only visited the island for part of each year, however, so if the numbers went up after he left the island to return home, he was their protector. Perhaps a flawed way of looking at this but it's only a blog.

The bears were certainly not Treadwell's friends, though I suspect he may have felt very differently. As I pointed out in class, I saw that the bears were farly intolerant of Treadwell's presence, as noted on many occasions throughout the presentation. Treadwell was encroaching on nature in the purest form by actually interfering with the natural instincts of the bears. In the movie, the one reasonable footage I saw was during the bear brawl, where Treadwell waited until the end of the fight before approaching and long after the bears had left. Smart move, so he wasn't stupid, by any means. I don't necessarily think that naming bears is a bad thing. People associate things by recognition and I believe it would be perfectly natural to name that which you identify with.

As I pointed out in class, Treadwell no doubt raised awareness of the bears in Alaska. Through his public engagements and appearances, he was certainly an integral part in fund raising activities for the Grizzly People, though to what extent I am not aware without further resarch. With a public image so notorious and extravagent, I am sure the Grizzly People welcomed many contributions from supportes throughout the United States, Cananda and the world, no doubt. However, I am sure he offended just as many people, if not more, through his actions in Alaska. As I said earlier, I do not agree with the way in which Treadwell went about his conservation efforts as it pertained to the way he was filming his documentary and his interactions with wildlife, including the coyotes which frequented his campsite. Desensitizing wildlife in this way makes them much less wary of humans and can only lead to eventual trouble, in many circumstances, once the natural distrust has left a wild animal.