Alaska: Who will win Fat Bear Week?
In Katmai National Park in Alaska, bears compete for the most fat reserves. Fat Bear Week captivates millions around the world.
Every autumn, the bears living in Katmai National Park in Alaska engage in a contest of strength and size.
Dozens of brown bears gather at Brooks Falls to gorge on salmon and pack on the pounds before their long winter hibernation.
At the end of a week-long tournament organised by the National Park Service, one bear is crowned champion through a public vote. This year, it is not only the bears' waistlines being measured. The competition adds a second category for the most adorable participants: the bear cubs.
The bears have numbers assigned to them by biologists. Some have also been given nicknames.
«The winner receives no prize, but can take comfort in the certainty of heading into the winter den fit, fat, and full«, says Ms Law, the park ranger.
The bears compete head-to-head, with before-and-after photos on display. Park staff photograph the bears in early summer and at the end of the salmon run, when they are at their most rotund. One winner from each pair waddles on to the next round. The elimination process continues until only one bear remains.
Bad luck for the voluptuous brown bear Holly: in the 2019 vote, she had been crowned the most impressive furry creature. But this season, she was eliminated in the very first round.
When voting kicked off on Wednesday (local time), her voracious rival Grazer received more votes and advanced to the next round.
The male Walker, weighing over 450 kilograms, also prevailed in the first runoff. Park rangers described Walker on Wednesday as «more ball than bear», who likely knocked out the competition with the sheer width of his backside.
Popeye
Among the remaining contenders are last year's winner 747, nicknamed Jumbo Jet, a chubby young cub, and an imposing male nicknamed Chunk.
Online visitors and bear fans can vote daily for the fattest and most impressive specimens. Before-and-after photos show how the bears, thin after hibernation, bulk up over the summer catching salmon. The winner of the original twelve candidates will be announced next Tuesday (October 5).
Katmai Park in southwestern Alaska is hosting «Fat Bear Week» for the seventh time. The competition aims to educate people about the ecosystem and habitat of the more than 2,200 brown bears in the region.
