Blog #2: Grizzly Man vs. The Crocodile Hunter

I found Grizzly Man to be a very interesting film. It obviously caused many different opinions from many different people. I found that although Timothy Treadwell obviously cared for the bears and meant well, he clearly didn't have a grasp on the best way to help them. I disagree that he was completely insane, because in order to survive as much time up there as he did, he must have been doing something right. Perhaps it was the amount of time that he spent up there alone that caused him to become mentally unbalanced. In his film, his interactions with the bears were incredible. I agree that no average person would have the desire to be so close to a wild animal, but I think that he also wasn't the only person to want to experience that.

I think that Tim Treadwell reminded me a lot of Steve Irwin, the crocodile enthusiast. They had very different approaches, but they both shared that same childish enthusiasm, which was what many critics of both pointed out as their downfall, or their lack of professionalism. Irwin also shared the desire to be close to wild animals, though he preferred crocodiles and he took a completely different approach. Irwin interacted with crocs, but when it was outside of his zoo, he clearly realized how dangerous they were, and when he was working directly with a specific animal, to transport it or for medical treatment, he often had help.

Treadwell may not have taken the best approach to helping the bears that he so cared about, but the fact is that he did understand them on a level that we never could. He sacrificed his life to get close to these animals. I respect him for his dedication and effort, but I think that as much as he cared, his desire to know the animals outweighed his desire to help them, and he didn't help them as much as he could have, if he had used a different tactic.