Warning: This article contains content which some readers may find distressing.
Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were killed by a bear when they were camping, but it appears that Treadwell knew this could have always been a possibility.
In October 2003, Treadwell, known as the 'Grizzly Man' thanks to his obsession with bears, travelled to Katmai National Park, in Alaska, for his yearly trip.
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The documentary maker had visited the bears there for over 13 years, and this trip appeared to be no different at the start.
However, something would go wrong when he set up his camp, with Treadwell inadvertently predicting how he would die in a video he'd captured prior.
During the trips, the 46-year-old would typically do things like play with and touch the bears as he believed they were misunderstood creatures.
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He also believed that, in spirit, he was a bear too.
But Treadwell was playing with fire, and people knew it.
According to friends and family, he was repeatedly warned of the dangers, but he wasn't deterred.
Little did Treadwell know that this camping trip would be his last as just hours before the couple were due to fly back home via seaplane, they were mauled to death by a bear.
As he didn’t have time to remove the lens during the attack, the Grizzly Man tragically recorded their final moments - six chilling minutes of him screaming for Amie to ‘hit the bear’, among other requests.
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He would go on to scream at his girlfriend as he was being eaten alive: “Get out here! I’m getting killed out here!”
Will Fulton, a taxi driver, would find the couple’s remains just hours later which included a collapsed tent, unopened snacks, a finger, an arm, Treadwell’s skull and part of his spine attached.
Later, a documentary of the couple’s story, titled Grizzly Man, would be told through clips the bear enthusiast had captured.
But little did anyone know, Treadwell himself seemingly predicted how he would die.
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In a clip posted to YouTube, it shows Treadwell talking to his camera in the wilderness where he thanked the bears for allowing him to get close and to become part of the pack.
But he also warned that he would ‘die’ for the bears.
Treadwell stated that ‘God would be very, very pleased with me’ for the work he was doing with the animals and felt that he was ‘one of them’.
He added that it made him feel ‘good’ about himself and that he wants to continue his work.
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Staring directly at the lens, Treadwell said: “But if not, be warned, I will die for these animals.
“I will die for these animals. I will die for these animals.”
Fulton shared that he knew immediately what had happened when he landed at Katmai National Park.
According to the taxi driver, he would normally find the couple waiting on the shore to be picked up, but instead there was an eerie silence and the 'meanest looking bear' standing on top of a pile of human remains.
That's when he found the couple's tent collapsed torn along with their evening snack that was unopened.
Topics: Documentaries, Animals
Britt Jones