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The story Dan Conner makes reference to in this episode is definitely a real-life — and very tragic — tale. He’s most likely referring to Timothy Treadwell, a documentary filmmaker, and naturalist who adored grizzly bears and spent much of his time in Alaska living among them and other animals. Treadwell, who founded Grizzly People, an organization dedicated to protecting bears, was eaten alive by a bear in Katmai National Park in Alaska, approximately on or around October 5, 2003, in an attack that was captured on audio tape. Also killed was his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard. The bear was subsequently killed and autopsied, during which human remains and bits of clothing were found in its stomach (via Wolfsongnews).
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Treadwell, who appeared on numerous talk shows and published a book entitled “Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska” before his death, came under fire from both local park officials and other naturalists for his tendency to humanize the bears he studied and getting far too close to his subjects physically (per Reader’s Digest). His tragic story was captured by filmmaker Werner Herzog in the documentary “Grizzly Man.” If you’re curious about Treadwell’s real-life travails, the film is available on Tubi as of press time.
