Timothy Treadwell | Grizzly Man | Mental Health & Personality 

I spent 5 years studying wolves in Canada. Wolves are way less dangerous and way more timid than bears, but they're still wild animals and you need to respect them. People try to raise them as pets. It always ends with either 1) the wolf spending its life in a tiny pen and/or 2) the wolf getting killed. If you want a close emotional relationship with a non-human being, get a German Shepherd. Leave wildlife alone.

Eight of the bears Treadwell had interacted with had to be shot over the next two seasons. He had accustomed them to human presence. They were no longer suitably reticent around humans and they associated humans with being fed. All of the bears that were shot had approached humans in the same way they had been taught by Treadwell to approach him. So in the end, at least ten bears died as a direct result of his interference in their habitat. Not a great achievement for someone who styled himself as a world class conservationist.

That pilots decision to trust his feeling of "something didn't feel right" probably saved his life!

As an Alaskan Native this story was huge following the attacks. I personally knew one of the first responders who listened to the final moments of Treadwell getting eaten alive and was informed that the recording will never be released to the public. It was horrific. Treadwell was well known among our tribes in the region he was visiting for over 10 years...the elders were absolutely appalled and called him “crazy”, they also easily predicted his death would be the outcome of his antics. Humans are not meant to name Grizzly bears in the wild, Mr. Chocolate, and Tubbs..the absolute disrespect for bears and the arrogance of Treadwell is what killed him.

"What can we learn from this case?" Leave them damn animals tf alone. 🤦🏾‍♀️

I know it's insensitive, but the interview with the pilot from the doc that said, "I thought he was retarded or something," hit the nail on the head. No backup gun or bearspray - something even hikers carry as a rule - this was akin to suicide by nature, just sped up.

“He had a mistrust for humans, perhaps a bit of mistrust for bears would have been handy”. You nailed that one Doc !

I think he just changed addictions from drugs to bears. Like alot of ppl his addiction killed him.

I remember when he was a guest on Letterman. One of the first questions Dave asked was, “is it gonna happen that one day we read a news article about you being eaten by one of these bears?” His response, “ummm, no”. Well, that didn’t age well.

This was excellent! I've always found it alarming that people consider Timothy Treadwell a hero or some kind of a great scientist when all he was doing was putting himself and others and the bears in danger.

When this happened, one of the newspapers wrote “Bears were his life; he was their lunch”. I always felt he underplayed the danger to his girlfriend. It ended so horrifically.

The most baffling thing for us Alaskans was that he professes to be there to protect the bears from hunters yet he was camping and filming in Katmai national Forrest which is by law protected from hunting bears

Some years before his death, Timothy had approached & asked if he could be 'adopted' into the Bear clan of our tribe. When I asked him why, he went on some strange thought that he would somehow have 'special powers' to relate & communicate with the bears. The Elders were skeptical of him and I told him that he wasn't going to be 'adopted' by the Bear clan. He then started calling us every name in the book. I had almost forgotten about him until I saw what happened to him & Amy.

I grow weary of people thinking that only _they_ are special enough to raise and understand the chimp, lion, tiger or bears. I watched this documentary by Herzog a few times and I only felt angry. The only sympathy I felt was for his girlfriend who clearly didn't want to be there. I think you've covered this quite nicely, doctor. I had a feeling he was narcissistic. I mean, who else would feel so special that they think they're exempt from being eaten by grizzly bears? And then the bears are killed for being bears. 🙄 Thank you Dr Grande. 👍🌹

"Sometimes people create relationships in their mind that don't exist."

I read somewhere a park ranger from that area claims Tim's actions actually resulted in the deaths of something like 6 or 7 bears. Several of them had become too comfortable around and lost their natural healthy fear of humans and started approaching people so they had to be put down. Apparently a few of the younger ones had gotten so used to Tim bringing them food they never learned how to properly forage and hunt and didn't survive the winter.

Thank you so much, Dr. Grande. This is yet another classy and caring analysis. One note on this guy and anyone who wants to live as Timothy Treadwill did .... WANTING something to be true, does not make it true. Timothy really wanted to believe that the bears would not hurt him, but seriously, bears eat everything. I know the language of the bear, too, and as soon as their eyes meet yours, you are already dead. Do NOT approach bears. In Alaska, the saying is "a fed bear is a dead bear," and this is so true; if just one human feeds a bear or allows them to think that humans are a source for food, that bear will revisit the spot where he was given food or seek out humans for more. If the meat popsicle (human) does not provide food, then the meat popsicle becomes the food. Bears deserve to live without human interaction in their natural habitat. A person who TRULY respects and adores bears will leave them alone and watch from afar.

Great breakdown, Doc. When I initially watched the documentary on this it didn’t take me long to realize that this guy was completely unstable. Also, a part of the documentary when the pilot is telling the story of when he went to pick them up was super crazy. That being said, I do have to credit him with obtaining some incredible footage. In particular, watching those two alpha bears go to war on the beach was amazing footage. I would say Timothy Treadwell’s greatest skill was camping. He camped 13 straight summers in a completely hard and unforgiving environment.

"He's not particularly intelligent." That is brutal honesty there. Though I wouldn't be so candid, he wasn't very cautious. Ironic since his name is Treadwell.

I don't understand how you choose the perfect topics for each episode lately. Literally perfect selections IMO.

Children are impressionable. My father joined the USAF at age 17, my uncle is a retired Sgt. Major in the Marines, serving in WWII, Korea & Vietnam. My father used to love to take me to John Wayne movies. The western were good, but what we really loved were the War movies. My uncle's favorite film is Full Metal Jacket. You'd think he'd have had enough of war after serving in 3 major conflicts, but he can't get enough of it. What I'm saying is I grew up with these two men as my role models, so, as you can imagine, when I enrolled in school the teachers did not know how to handle my courageous and independent spirit. After spending a lot of Junior high school in the principal's office or on suspension, I finally decided to "go with the flow." I bring this up, because I read somewhere that Timothy used to make guest appearances at grade schools, where he was presented to the children as a bear expert. Some unleashing of anything he taught them has to be done immediately. I have zero sympathy for Timothy being eaten by a bear because I believe that is what he wanted. He wanted to be remembered as a great naturalist like John Muir, Marlon Perkins or Jacques Cousteau. Just listen to the tape from his own film that he was making. He says: "I will die for these bears!" At least 4 times in a row. A normal people, if they said that at all, would say it once & move on.

He might have brought it on himself but I can't imagine how terrifying and horrific the last minutes of their lives were. It is sad that he took his girlfriend down with him.

The way he would smack those bears on the snout & yell at them. I can’t believe he lived as long as he did. That little fox that stole his cap was cute though.

I live in bear country. I would never assume that a wild bear is safe to be around. They are highly unpredictable. They're majestic creatures. Just make sure you are viewing them from a safe distance.

This is a subject I have slight inside information on. My uncle was (he passed away last year) one of the foremost experts on brown bears (grizzlies). He was on the board of the Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana. He was one of the biologists involved with the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone, which was very controversial. Anyway, I was at a family reunion just outside Yellowstone and I asked him about Treadwell. My uncle (the bear expert) almost couldn't believe I was asking the question. He said Treadwell got exactly what he deserved. My uncle was very intimidating, so I didn't press him for more details, but he basically said Treadwell was a complete idiot, and you can never understand what a wild animal will do. And I will say that my uncle had many engagements with brown bears. He was disgusted by Treadwell. Anyway...just some information from someone I knew and respected. RIP

Your commentary is so eloquent and laced with humour...."perhaps the word for him was edible rather than credible"... 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

Seems like Timothy exchanged one dangerous addiction for another dangerous addiction. Something was not quite right with him. Love your channel.

I did not expect a video to be done about Timothy Treadwell, but I’m glad it’s happened. Thank you good sir.

He survived 13 summers! What an incredible lucky streak! Equivalent to holding the dice for an hour at the craps table.

What I find truly astounding about this man is that, despite his obvious eccentricities, he managed to get several girlfriends AND persuade them to come with him camping in Alaska.

Can you imagine how much worse this year would have been if we hadn't found Dr Grande's channel?

Dr. Grande, telling it like it is. "During those last few moments his fantasy came crashing down. He was forced to face the reality that he was nothing more than food to that bear. That was the relationship!" OUCH

When i saw Grizzly man as kid, i felt sorry for him, he had quirky personality and loved animals. As an adult, i rewatched it. His tapes showed me more than clearly he is a man who falls deeply into madness of being alone, his addiction never disappeared. He wanted to be loved, to be famous, to have an attention. That's why he attempted to be an actor. It was nothing but a hunt for glory. He did not realize it, he thought he is helping, but they did not even need his help, they needed to be left alone. And about Amy. I really feel sorry for her and Tim is to blame. He already chose his faith, but he decided to drag one more person with him.

I feel sorry for the Girlfriend and the two Bears. Folks be careful. Don't allow your love for someone to blind you. Don't allow your Love for someone to put you in a dangerous/questionable situation. Walk away if you have to....don't look back. More than anything this Story is a Cautionary Tale.

Holy jeez I can't believe how happy I am to see Dr. Grande profile a person I haven't thought about in probably 8 years...(not even sarcasm!)

Glad you did this analysis. Ive been obsessed with this story for years. Everything you said is what i was thinking. 100%

I’ll just stick with my 3 dogs and a cat! LoL

As someone in recovery, I saw his actions as trading one addiction for another. He could not maintain sobriety out in civilized society and 12-step programs require ego deflation to stay sober. He took his inflated ego and that poor misguided young woman and got them both killed. He was high on what he thought was this special power he had to communicate and protect the bears. When all along he had just been damn lucky. He indeed went from credible to edible. And his luck ran out and his ego couldn’t save him. Or Amy. He “cured” his addictions he thought by becoming this mystical bear whisperer when all he did was remove himself from reality and kept feeding his ego. Those videos of his were angering, annoying, bizarre, and just plain sad.

Watched the documentary for the first time in September 2021. Being familiar with a wide-range of mental illness, my first thought was Timothy suffered from bipolar disorder. Dr. Grande's observation was illuminating and brings to light the sad reality Timothy Treadwell lived and, ultimately, died in.

My mom grew up on Kodiak Island in the 70/80’s and she had so many stories of grizzly attacks. She said that it was an odd thing for a year to go by without somebody getting mauled. They are extremely unpredictable animals. Much much different than brown/black bears that tend to be spooked easily. They have no fear of humans

Spot on Sir, I also believe he was delusional and narcissistic, this one really is a sad tale ; death for two humans and death for two bears.

You said something that touched a nerve. I think lots of people, if they hade a hard life,i.e. people let them down, like me they turn to animals. Bad case yes . I have done lots of animal rescue throughout my life. They don't hurt me like people do.

"but evidently the bear was not too concerned with being hit by a pan." LOL

I'll never understand why people allow themselves to be talked into dangerous activities that they fear.

Indeed, Doctor I find your comments and analysis, "spot on". I have not seen other videos with Timothy Treadwell, as of yet. I have no desire to track down the actual audio of his killing. I simply value the entire story as a warning that mental illness takes many forms and not to play with wildlife.

He thought he had a special relationship with the bears. He was right. I'm enjoying my own special relationship with a burrito.

That was a good analysis. I remember watching the documentary with horror. I couldn't get over anyone being that disconnected with reality. It was pretty hard to sit through.

“He thought the bears found him credible, but they actually found him edible.” Very sad, but a hilarious rhyme by you, Dr. Grande! Thanks for your analysis! Always helpful, and entertaining. 😁

I remember this story back in 2005. I was so mad at him for getting two innocent bears killed with his buffoonery. 🐻

Treadwell inserted himself annually into these bears lives when they came to feed on the salmon runs... He thought he was a able to "communicate" with them and believed he was their protector... The bears merely tolerated his presence during their pre-hibernation feeding, until the day they decided one day his presence was an annoyance...

I didn't read all the comments, but I wanted to say - for all his craziness, he really was extremely talented filmmaker and some of the footage he left behind is poignantly beautiful and highly recommended to watch (the Grizzly Man Diaries documentary). You can see the spirit he saw these animals through, and it was beautiful. Aside from his obvious mental issues, the work deserves respect and recognition.

"I'll become one with the bears." Well, you're in luck...

Fascinating analysis. I think that many people who pet, acquire or seek intimacy with exotic animals have delusions of grandeur or are emotionally stunted, often leading to tragic consequences. I heard of a couple in New York whose baby was eaten by their pet python. It was allowed to slither freely around the apartment, because they considered it a member of the family and believed it loved them and their offspring.

Back in the late 90's a friend of mine brought me to a presentation from Treadwell and introduced him to me. She knew him as they were neighbors in the canyon ( So Cal) He was very cordial. I later donated a small check to his Foundation. It took him 6 months to cash it. He had been up with the bears. He wrote me a nice letter, thanking me for my contribution. He often asked my friend about me. I was shocked and saddened when I heard he had been killed. It was on the day of my own mother's funeral.

Oh, my gosh - what a sad ending to this story...for all involved. You make exactly the point I was thinking - it is because of his using the bears to buttress his ego that two bears were killed. Excellent analysis again!

I was on the driving range hitting balls when this good sized adult Bobcat walked across the range in front of us about 20 yards away. This city boy says, I saw that on hole #6 the other day and tried to feed it my power bar. I said have you ever had a baby kitten claw at you when you tried to play with it because it thought you were a threat. What do you think that would do to you in about 3 seconds. People have no respect for wild animals because they weren't raised around them. This never ends well.

He worked at a restaurant in Newport Beach called “Gulliver's” ; some associates and I used to meet there for lunch. He was an annoying dullard. That’s all I can describe him as. I never experienced that Australian kick. Any dealings I had with him involved him acting like Keanu Reeves character in one of the “Bill and Ted” movies. I didn’t know about his demise until a waitress who worked there who had expressed misgivings about home told me what had happened.

PLEASE PLEASE, Dr. Grande- do a video on Steve Irwin! He was so genuine & WANTED others to have his knowledge.

This is a very compassionate description of an extremely delusional bloke who caused the senseless murder of at least three viable beings . Thank you for this very fascinating broadcast.

You were being both analytical and kind. Thank you.

I love your analyses of troubled and perplexing people. You are a good teacher.

The star of Grizzly Man was that wee fox he made friends with. I sometimes think that fox must have looked for his human friend for a while before moving on 🦊

He did eventually bond with the bears on a nutritional level

Right on about Timothy Treadwell. I’m from Alaska and he is a very good example (in addition to what you pointed out) of people who come to Alaska from the lower 48, and bring ideas about animals in the wild that are dangerous to man. My ancestors, as I did, grew up respecting the bear. Education is life saving.

13:07 "Treadwill thought the bear would find him credible. But instead he found him edible.' I was listening with such seriousness.. then Dr. Grande hit us with that poetic humor. Wouldnt be a Dr. G video without some knew slappin.

Very good synopsis about Timothy Treadwell. Thank you. Cant imagine his final moments, and the grlfriend.

“He believed that the bears made him a better person” Most people get a dog or cat

Lot of good lessons here.

Well done. You spoke on this way better than anyone else. I have followed this for years. Great job. Nailed it!!!

This is SOOO SAD and horrific..glad you covered this one DR GRANDE

😁 "The land of bears." I could've sworn, you almost laughed there.

Excellent analysis. I remember Treadwell, thinking that he was teaching bears bad habits and would keep pushing his luck til he encountered a rogue. Lots of bad choices on exhibit here.

Really good analysis, Dr Grande. I remember watching the Werner Herzog documentary about Treadwell years ago-- I was deeply affected by it, especially the segment concerning the audio of Treadwell's grizzly, horrifying final moments. Herzog did an outstanding job with the film but I wish that I'd never watched it TBH bc it was so disturbing.

Werner Herzog is a mad man himself, it'd be nice to see an analysis of him. He allegedly saved Joaquin Phoenix from a car crash and then wandered off. Cheers, Dr. Grande!

I have been obsessed by Treadwell for the past week reading everything I can. Great to see one of my favourite psychology tubers do a video like this. If he was born two decades later he would have been a top influencer these days. I think we are just waiting for a similar story to happen with a popular influencer swimming with tiger sharks or whatever is out there. People like him show our civilization was already primed at making people feel lonely and unfulfilled decades ago. It only has become worse. People developing narcissistic traits or perhaps an inferiority complex because they are taught to have goals in life that are unfulfilling. It is a very tragic story. Anthropomorphizing bears to get the respect and love he thought he deserved and never got in real life, because he never learned how to earn it. I am ex addict myself and I love animals just as much. So I recognize a lot of his thought process there. I don't think I would really have been out there myself like he was. But I totally can imagine how he made up this mental image desperately trying to get the same high from reality as he did with drugs. Luckily I found my joy in life in commitment to my marriage, daughter and professional career.

This dude was a fruitcake. I watched the Herzog movie and I found nothing funny about Treadwell`s worldview. That was an accident waiting to happen. Thanx Dr. Grande!

I have always admired Werner Herzog’s films. When I saw Grizzly Man I was stunned by Timothy Treadwell. I wanted to know what would make this guy tick and was thrilled to see your possible diagnosis. Appreciated that you said in his openness to experience factor that he was not smart. As usual you are understated. Sorry about bear 141 and the adolescent bear and his girlfriend. Another delicious video. Thank you!

"Fantasy may take away the pain, but it does not alter any physical consequences." There are a whole lot of people who need to hear this.

"Perhaps a little bit of that distrust for bears would have been handy." Dr. Todd Grande. Statement of the century! LOL!

About ten minutes into watching the Herzog film about Treadwell, the guy sitting next to me in the theater said 'I'm already rooting for the bears'. Treadwell's treating bears as if they were people in fur suits was at times even offensive. This anthropomorphizing of animals is sad, silly and as Treadwell and his unfortunate girlfriend found, can be extremely dangerous or even fatal.

The only thing that was found of Timothy was part of his skull and his spine and his left arm from the elbow down with his watch still attached, his girlfriend was found nearby half-buried but intact for the most part the bear was obviously saving her for later. The bear was dispatched by park rangers as it was guarding her corpse when they arrived at the site.

Please consider analyzing Chris Mccandless of Into the Wild

"This only made the bear eat faster" FJWBDNBS

i have social anxiety disorder and ptsd i love watching your videos

It's incredible what people convince themselves of, ingorance isn't bliss in this case. It's hard to wrap your head around a person who dedicated a chunk of his life to a specific animal and didn't learn anything and caused needless death. This happends in the world in so many occasions. This is a great example. Thanks for your video.

I remember seeing a documentary on Timothy that was done a few years before he was killed. I thought he was absolutely crazy and wasn't surprised when I heard he was killed by a bear. I think you hit the nail on the head with your description of his personality traits and mental health. I would recommend watching the documentary, if you can find it, to get a better perspective on Timothy and what Dr, Grande is saying about him.

I have always wondered about him, and his girlfriend. This was so tragic.

OMG, now I know I love you!!! Can't wait for this one, THANKS!!! He was too soft for his own good. I loved him in the beginning, loved what he stood for; I know he was sincere. I still consider him a hero, every time I watch the film "Grizzly Man" I see these awesome creatures up close and personal. Without interfering with their natural habitat. He was probably like an annoying fly most of the time, they tolerated him for a while. But he broke the rules of nature and paid the ultimate price. He was obsessed. Herzog did an excellent job with this film In the end, I'm glad he had so many wonderful experiences but this is lessons learned about messing with mother nature. Amy certainly should have followed her instincts and stayed away; she was so innocent and this must have been a horrendous death beyond words. A lot of people predicted a bad ending to his story, so sad she had to be there as well.

It's amazes me how women can be attracted to a looney like Treadwell. The guy's elevator clearly stalled out a long time ago. I find the characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to be more sane.

I watched the documentary Grizzly Man that had a lot actual film of him and I have say the thing that stood out about Tim was that he seemed, for a lack of a better term, simple. Like he was mentally arrested somewhere around the onset of puberty. The immaturity, inability to carry on an adult conversation and everything was about stimulation for him. I kind of thought his parents really should have picked up on that and at least try to limit him legally from having full adult autonomy. I also got the impression he was gay but seem to always be with women. I thought he seemed confused not about being gay but about being straight.He wanted acceptance that badly that he sacrificed who he really was. Sad that no one took a good look at him and thought to intervene.

That last year, he made the grave error of staying into hibernation season, something he didn't do the previous years. 3:16

I actually don't know how I discovered your videos but can't stop watching them, the mental health problems related to these situations are probably what I find interesting. You are very calming too. God bless from Ireland.

Great analysis , tragic story , which makes me think of the so many other people out there on RU-vid ,Social Media that put out videos of their special connections with wildlife / predatory animals , are they conservationists ? or narcissist s ? Great topic

“Credible” “Edible” Doc, you’re killin’ me. You should do stand up, too.

Timothy Treadwell before grizzly attack: I'd never use a weapon to harm a bear, even in self defense! Timothy Treadwell during grizzly attack : Get a frying pan and hit the bear in the head!

"In a particularly strange recording" haha, I remember that one. It is burned into my brain. That and when he hovers over the bear poop and says "It's still warm! This was in her!!!" And then that woman he worked with (and dated?). When she's describing the accidental fire at work she reminds me of the wife in Men in Black - the "like he was wearing an E'gar suit" lady...oh God! And then there's the guy at the morgue. It was perfectly cast...yet it wasn't cast at all...wild. Woo-yip!

Maybe girls didn't like him because he slept with bears and thought he was goldilocks. Clever little ending. "He thought he was credible but the word he was looking for was edible." 🤣😂👏

It seems as though he was extremely lonely so he created a fantasy world where bears were his companions. I feel sorry for him, even if I don't condone his actions or beliefs. Sometimes, the comment section on this channel can be very mean. Yes, he was wrong, but that doesn't mean people should be cruel. We already have a big enough issue with society looking down on people with mental illness and that's the cause of too many problems to count. We need to remember that these people are ILL. Again, it doesn't mean we agree with or condone their behavior.

This was a fascinating delve into the psychological profile of Timothy Treadwell. When it first happened, there were interviews with people that knew him, who'd said he'd returned to civilization, gotten into an argument with someone, obtained funding & then returned to the bears, this time with naive, trusting Amie Huguenard. It was very unsettling to think that she was so frightened of bears, but trusting of Treadwell. I thought he'd just seen one too many showings of the movie, "Dances with Wolves." We are not that special. We are potential kibble to the beautiful but wild predators amongst us.

GREAT pick for this analysis. His case is so interesting!