Chilling tape of ‘Grizzly Man’ who filmed himself being eaten alive by bear has only been played to one person

Timothy Treadwell was passionate about bears. He spent many summers living among them in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. His goal was to understand them better and prove they were not as dangerous as people thought. He filmed his experiences and tried to show the world that humans and bears could coexist peacefully.

Treadwell had loved bears since he was a child. Growing up in New York, he would go on camping trips to Alaska with his family. Even then, he would approach bears closely, talk to them, and sometimes even try to play with them. Over time, his connection with bears grew stronger, and he made the unusual decision to live with them for months at a time each year.

Unfortunately, in October 2003, things ended in tragedy. According to U.S. authorities, Timothy, who was 46 years old, and his girlfriend Amy Huguenard, 37, were both attacked and killed by a large male brown bear at their campsite near Kaflia Bay in Katmai National Park. It happened either on the 6th or 7th of October.

What made the story even more disturbing is that the audio of the attack was accidentally recorded by Treadwell’s camera. However, the tape has never been released to the public — and probably never will be.

In 2005, German filmmaker Werner Herzog released a documentary about Treadwell’s life called Grizzly Man. It includes clips from Treadwell’s many video recordings and tells the story of his deep bond with the bears — and his tragic end.

Jewel Palovak, a close friend of Treadwell and co-producer of the documentary, was also the legal owner of his video and photo archives after his death. She revealed that only one person — Herzog himself — has ever listened to the audio of the bear attack.

When the team started working on the documentary, many of them thought it might be important to include at least part of the audio. But Palovak refused, as it was part of the agreement not to use it. She eventually allowed Herzog to hear it privately because she felt it was important for him to understand the full story. After hearing it, Herzog agreed that the recording was too painful and inappropriate to include in the film.

Palovak made sure that every project involving Treadwell’s legacy after his death included a rule: the recording of his death would never be shared with the public.

She explained that Timothy knew the risks of being around wild bears, but after spending 13 summers safely among them, he may have become too comfortable. He let his guard down. When he was attacked, he wasn’t even wearing shoes or his glasses, and he wasn’t filming at the time — he was simply outside his tent in the rain.