Death in the Grizzly Maze: The Timothy Treadwell Story - Paperback

by Mike Lapinski (Author)

On the afternoon of October 5, 2003, in Alaska's Katmai National Park, one or more brown bears killed and ate Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard. The next day, park rangers killed the two bears that they assumed were responsible. This frightening and chilling story immediately captured worldwide media attention. Some bear experts felt that Treadwell's death was a matter of time, considering the unorthodox and highly questionable tactics he used in his life among the bears. Yet Timothy's surge in popularity, and his inglorious death, give rise to a plethora of questions. More than just a story about Treadwell, Death in the Grizzly Maze delves into the issues raised by the new breed of reckless wildlife celebrities and answers these questions: Was it a foregone conclusion that Timothy Treadwell had to die? Since Treadwell's actions were so obviously improper why didn't the National Park Service intervene? Did the bears have to die? How the actions of a few are affecting national park policy and promoting improper behavior when encountering wildlife are important issues for the future of wildlife conservation.

Back Jacket

On the afternoon of Sunday, October 5, 2003, in Alaska's Katmai National Park, one or more brown bears killed and ate Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard. The next day, park rangers investigating the site shot and killed two bears that threatened them; it was later determined that one of the bears had human flesh and clothing in its stomach. This chilling story immediately captured worldwide media attention, not only because of the horrific manner of Timothy and Amie's deaths, but also because Timothy was a well-known wildlife celebrity. His films of close-up encounters with grizzly bears - he spent more than a dozen summers living with and videotaping giant bears in the Alaskan bush - were the subject of television talk shows, movies, and books. But his work was not without controversy, and some bear experts felt that Treadwell's fatal encounter was a tragedy waiting to happen - the result of the unorthodox tactics he used in his life among the bears. Death in the Grizzly Maze is the compelling account of Treadwell's intense life and dramatic death. Author Mike Lapinski chronicles Treadwell's rise from self-described alcoholic loser to popular grizzly-bear advocate. Lapinski explores how a waiter from Malibu, California, with no background in biology or wildlife science, came to be considered a bear expert. And he reveals the high cost of the current craze for wildlife celebrities - and what it means for the future of wildlife conservation.

Author Biography

Mike Lapinski is the author of eleven outdoor and nature books and hundreds of magazine articles. His photographs have appeared as inside and cover art in a variety of magazines and books. Mike is considered an expert on the use of bear pepper spray and often speaks on this subject, bears, and self-defense for nature lovers. He lives with his wife Aggie most of the year in Superior, Montana, close to grizzlies and grizzly country. While the bears are hibernating, Mike and Aggie live in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where Mike writes about jaguars, ocelots, and other wilderness animals of the Southwest.