I n the news this morning is a story about the death of bear expert Timothy Treadwell. It would seem that the bodies of he and a companion were found mauled to death in Alaska. I only bring it up because I seem to recall that Treadwell was often quoted in a thread about dealing with bears on this list some time back. According to the story it would appear that not everybody considered Treadwell to be the last word on bears as evidenced by the statement made by the superintendent at Katmai National Park where the bodies were found. "At best he's misguided," Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai, told the Anchorage Daily News in 2001. "At worst he's dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk." Interesting. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
One of the newspaper reports I read made him sound like a crackpot. If it is accurate, he anthropomorphized the bears and tried to befriend them. According to the article, he "slept near them and crawled into their dens when they were off fishing for salmon." TFJ ------------------------------------------ The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged, confidential, and protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, any further disclosure or use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message or any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you think that you have received this e-mail message in error, please delete it and notify the sender. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Like a lot of people, he had a system for dealing with a dangerous situation which worked for him, until it didn't. How often have you heard someone respond to some safety advise by saying "I've been doing it this way for years and never had any problem." Sounds like Mr Treadwell thought he had it all figured out. The problem with his system for bear safety is it doesn't sound like it gave him much leeway in case he was wrong. Even if Mr Treadwell were correct that bears aren't "dangerous", they are at a minimum "potentially dangerous". Big teeth and sharp claws at least suggests a potential danger. If you are going to pet a bear, you really should have a plan for if "potentially" turns into "actually". And if you can't think of a plan, maybe your original system isn't as good as you thought. This is something to consider about any safety system: What is the consequence if your safety system is not as good as you think it is. Do you have a fall back system, and possibly another. Many of us will choose to "pet the bear" in some way when we are out kayaking, are we really as prepared for the consequences of a failure in our system as we think? On Wednesday, October 8, 2003, at 10:41 AM, Joyce, Thomas F. wrote: > One of the newspaper reports I read made him sound like a crackpot. If > it is accurate, he anthropomorphized the bears and tried to befriend > them. According to the article, he "slept near them and crawled into > their dens when they were off fishing for salmon." Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 8 Oct 2003 at 9:41, Joyce, Thomas F. wrote: > One of the newspaper reports I read made him sound like a crackpot. I considered him more of a contrarian than a crackpot. He tried to counter current wisdom (as per folks like Herrero) by living in close contact with the grizzlies. His long periods among them certainly suggested that the grizzlies could coexist with humans to a greater extent than some thought, but he, like a certain tiger handler (Horn), relied a lot on continuous observation and experience. And like the tiger handler, he ultimately realized that he is dealing with a wild animal that hunts and kills by instinct. IOW, his luck ran out, as Nick says. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 02:02 PM 10/8/2003 -0400, Michael Daly wrote: >>>>>he, like a certain tiger handler >(Horn), relied a lot on continuous observation and experience. And >like the tiger handler, he ultimately realized that he is dealing >with a wild animal that hunts and kills by instinct. IOW, his luck >ran out, as Nick says. > >A bit off topic, but for a great read try: Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive. Again, again we come and go, changed, changing. Hands join, unjoin in love and fear, grief and joy. The circles turn, each giving into each, into all. Wendell Berry ********************************************************* John S. March, MD, MPH Professor and Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Duke Child and Family Study Center 718 Rutherford Street Durham, NC 27705 919/416-2404 (P); 919/416-2420 (F) Email: jsmarch_at_acpub.duke.edu Website: http://www2.mc.duke.edu/pcaad ********************************************************* *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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