Don't anthropomorphize an apex predator

Grizzly Bear photo from Pixabay

Back in October, my mom informed me of a story making headlines about a couple and their dog who were killed by a grizzly bear in Banff, Alberta. She didn't intend for me to spiral into a bear research frenzy, but it did. I was going through a few weird things at the time, a bit cramped up raising a toddler and mourning the re-homing of my dog who was displaying aggression to said toddler. I think my obsession with predatory bear attacks stemmed from watching my own dog display behaviours that no one would want to see in a their furry friend.

I had no idea bears inflicted predatory attacks on humans. I didn't know bears actively hunted humans in certain conditions. The aforementioned news story never 100% confirmed it was predatory, but the details definitely painted that picture. The couple had all the safety precautions put in place and bear spray was deployed. The bear was at the scene when help arrived, and was shot due to aggression. Bears that stick around are usually feeding and protecting a kill. The one thing I have learned after reading about bear attacks is that bear spray does not seem to work - a predatory bear is in a life or death situation of hunger, it will not easily back down and it's instincts drive that.

This reading led me to the interesting story of Timothy Treadwell. He is the protagonist in Werner Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man. A real life tale of a troubled individual who found solace in living among wild Alaskan grizzly bears, until he was ultimately killed and eaten by one (along with his girlfriend Amie Huguenard). The film is almost comedic in nature but paints a layered and touching portrait of an incredibly eccentric person. Timothy was a failed movie star with substance abuse issues who appeared to transfer his addiction from drugs to animals. He found meaning in his life by living with wild grizzlies for 13 summers. He appears sensitive, emotional and hurt, yet strong and resilient at the same time. His story is such a rabbit hole to delve into, there is so much information available including the 25 page investigation report of the attack. There is also the notorious audio recording of the death which may or may not have leaked. I find myself more inclined to admire him for being so earnest and vulnerable, but I also have a special kind of distaste for people who cross a barrier into nature. The kind of people who anthropomorphize animals to fulfill some need in themselves. It reminds me of my dog and the emotional toll it put on me to remove him from our family, when on paper it seems so black and white. Your dog may harm your child, fix the situation. On a greater scale with Timothy, you're living with an apex predator in the wild, it may eat you one day. Timothy did acknowledge this but placed so many human attributes on them that I think it muddied the risk assessment.

Still from Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog

Timothy's gentle and caring demeanour was starkly juxtaposed against the primal nature of the grizzly bears - there is no love in their actions. Werner Herzog details this in a quote from Grizzly Man: "And what haunts me, is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature". I am a firm believer in that no animal is trustworthy, some animals, pets in particular have a wider range of tolerance than others. But their instincts are still close to the surface - even the most tolerant of dogs has a limit. Dogs in particular are very interesting as they are basically wolves that learned to mooch from humans to survive. Humans became their source of life and they value them greatly. The stories of dogs hovering over their dead owners for weeks gives me the impression that their evolutionary trait of loyalty took over other survival traits, because it would make sense to just eat the dead owner. I think Timothy's love for the grizzlies is a fair comparison to this - his fascination for the bears gives him meaning in his life but it ultimately leads to his very predictable death. He's loyal to them but to a fault. This rambling points to the thought that while love may be necessary for survival, we sometimes risk our own survival for love. Evolution may tell the dog with the deceased owner to always stick close because this person offers you life, yet the person is dead. We may stay in an abusive relationship because of love. Timothy felt a sense of belonging and love with grizzlies, then was mauled to death.

I don't believe wild grizzly bears are capable of love as we know it. I think dogs may cross over the threshold though, but the animal/human divide is a challenging topic to get into. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how to define love. I believe there are all kinds, with the most advantageous being a mutually beneficial and respectful arrangement - I think that's what evolution intended. Some refer to this healthy arrangement as "real love" but I think that term diminishes other versions of love. I think Tim really did love those bears, and that dog wasting away felt true love for his owner. Healthy? No, but a valid and real emotion nonetheless. Should he have lived in such danger because of his love? Absolutely not, that's like telling someone in an abusive relationship to stay.

I still don't know where the line is drawn with love being something more mystical than an evolutionary development to survive. Is it when we risk our lives for another? I don't like that either - because while it shows we can surpass that strong evolutionary instinct for survival, it glorifies that twisted kind of love. Love hurts kind of love, love makes us do crazy things - all these quotes that make people think that one love is more valid than another type of love. The closest summary I can make is that love is vast and varying, and is not always mutual or beneficial. While it can help us propagate from an evolutionary standpoint, it goes beyond that in both positive and negative ways.

Circling back after my rambling, rarely a bear may find itself in a situation to eat you and if it does, it will do everything in it's power to do that. Instincts are instincts, and that is a true display of survival devoid of love. Timothy's instincts told him he needed love to survive and he took it to an extreme - finding it among wild animals. He did everything in his power to be near them and love them. He was quoted saying these bears saved his life - he was lacking something in himself to believe this and form a dangerous attachment. A benefit/risk that seems so incredibly disproportionate to the average, emotionally stable person. Similar to a dog standing by it's dead owner, when it could survive off the body. And on the smallest scale to myself holding onto the idea that my dog may warm up to my toddler when the writing was on the wall. I love my dog, but it was not strong enough to risk any harm to my son. Love is indeed incredibly diverse and intricate, but not always beneficial.

-Jaclyn