Terrifying Tale Of The Grizzly Man: Tim Treadwell's Horrifying Death At The Paws Of His Beloved Bears

"Wow! Wow! Wow! One of the most exciting days in my life at the Maze's Back Creek. Popping over the Secret Trail — from camp to the Back Creek Mt. Overlook — I could see several bears = Freckles still ruling, holding up the main area of the Back Creek, then a bear that looked like Downey, two that looked like Emmy and Baby Letterman," wrote Tim in July 2003, in what is a typical enthusiastic entry from the amateur wildlife watcher.

Despite his heart-felt intentions, Treadwell didn't win any friends with the park rangers, who often cited him for violating safety rules such as not moving his camp every seven days, storing food in his tent and refusing to carry bear spray as a deterrent.

On the day that his loved ones always feared, Tim was visiting Katmai with his girlfriend and physician's assistant Amie Huguenard and the couple camped near a salmon stream where hungry grizzlies hunted for food in the sparse fall weather to fatten up for winter.

Because it was late in the season, Tim had encountered bears he was not familiar with including one that he was unsure about that may have been his killer.

On October 6, Kodiak air taxi pilot, Willy Fulton, arrived at the camp to pick up the pair but instead discovered an abandoned camp and a lone bear. He alerted park rangers who found Tim and Amie's mangled remains.

Treadwell's disfigured head, partial spine, and right forearm and hand, with his wrist watch still on, were recovered a short distance from the camp, while his girlfriend was left next to the torn and collapsed tents, partially buried in a mound of twigs and dirt. A large male grizzly was shot dead after it was spotted guarding the camp, and human remains were found in its stomach.

A video camera found at the scene contained no visual footage but had audio recorded six minutes of agonizing screams as Tim was ravaged by a bear, while Huguenard attempted to fight it off. The tape culminated with the sounds of Treadwell being carried into the forest and Amie's agony at being left alone to die.

Tim's life work and his gory death were immortalized in Werner Herzog's 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man, which used footage from his personal video camera and much of his own words. Fortunately, the filmmaker saved viewers from the spine-chilling death screams, and the tape remains in the possession of Jewel Palovak in a safe deposit box.