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Alaska's Fat Bear Week is underway after one bear's death delayed the contest.
The contestants in the 10th Fat Bear Week at Katmai National Park and Preserve were introduced on Tuesday, a day later than expected after a female bear known as Bear 402 was killed by a male bear during a fight on Monday.
Fat Bear Week celebrates the resiliency of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula—located from the southwest corner of the mainland to the Aleutian Islands—by having people vote online for their favorite bears.
The bears have been fattening up all summer on sockeye salmon in preparation for this winter's hibernation, and organizers for Fat Bear Week on Tuesday introduced this year's 12 contestants.
Eight bears will compete against each other in the first round, and the other four will automatically advance to the second round. Voting began on Wednesday, and people have been instructed to vote based on which bear "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears."
Adult male brown bears weigh 600 to 900 pounds on average in mid-summer. By the time they go into hibernation, large males can weigh well over 1,000 pounds and females are roughly one-third smaller after eating as many as 30 fish per day in preparation for the winter.
Bear 747 at Katmai National Park in Alaska on September 26, 2024. E. Johnston/National Park Service via AP
Voting will continue through Tuesday, October 8.
"National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities," Katmai National Park spokesperson Matt Johnson said in a statement. "Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive."
It is unclear why the fight that led to the female bear's death was started, according to Katmai National Park ranger Sarah Bruce.
"We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and ample body fat, but the ferocity of bears is real," Mike Fitz, explore.org's resident naturalist, said during a live conversation about the death that the nonprofit hosted on Monday. "The risks that they face are real. Their lives can be hard, and their deaths can be painful."
Explore.org streams the bear cameras and helps organize Fat Bear Week.
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469 "WELL WITHIN THE SPECTRUM" of bears dealing with arrogant sows according to expert Mike Fitz
Alaska's Fat Bear Week is underway after one bear's death delayed the contest.
The contestants in the 10th Fat Bear Week at Katmai National Park and Preserve were introduced on Tuesday, a day later than expected after a female bear known as Bear 402 was killed by a male bear during a fight on Monday.
Fat Bear Week celebrates the resiliency of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula—located from the southwest corner of the mainland to the Aleutian Islands—by having people vote online for their favorite bears.
The bears have been fattening up all summer on sockeye salmon in preparation for this winter's hibernation, and organizers for Fat Bear Week on Tuesday introduced this year's 12 contestants.
Eight bears will compete against each other in the first round, and the other four will automatically advance to the second round. Voting began on Wednesday, and people have been instructed to vote based on which bear "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears."
Adult male brown bears weigh 600 to 900 pounds on average in mid-summer. By the time they go into hibernation, large males can weigh well over 1,000 pounds and females are roughly one-third smaller after eating as many as 30 fish per day in preparation for the winter.
Bear 747 at Katmai National Park in Alaska on September 26, 2024. E. Johnston/National Park Service via AP
Match Number 1
The first match is between Bear 909 Jr., who won the Fat Bear Junior competition for the second time last week, and Bear 519, a young female bear. The winner of the match will go up against defending champion, Grazer, one of the most formidable bears in the park.Match Number 2
In the second match, Bear 909, the mother of Bear 909 Jr., will face Bear 903, an 8-year-old male nicknamed Gully after the seagulls he eats. The victor will compete against Bear 747, a two-time champion named after the airplane of equal (in the figurative sense) size.Match Number 3
Tomorrow, voters will have two more polls to complete. In the first match-up of the day, there will be Bear 856, an older male and one of the most recognizable bears in the park from his large girth, against newbie Bear 504, a mother raising her second known litter. The winner will go up against perhaps the largest bear in the park named 32 Chuck, a 20-year-old male weighing over an estimated 1,2000 pounds who once ate 42 salmon in just 10 hours.Match Number 4
The last match on Thursday will be between Bear 151 and Bear 901. Bear 151, was once a playful young bear with the name Walker but is now showing more dominance. Bear 901 is a female bear who came back to the park after her first litter did not survive. The victor of the match will compete with Bear 164, nicknamed Bucky Dent because of an indentation in his forehead.Voting will continue through Tuesday, October 8.
Contestant's Death
The death of Bear 402, captured on the park's livestream footage of the bears, showed the "harsh realities" of nature, a park official said."National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities," Katmai National Park spokesperson Matt Johnson said in a statement. "Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive."
It is unclear why the fight that led to the female bear's death was started, according to Katmai National Park ranger Sarah Bruce.
"We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and ample body fat, but the ferocity of bears is real," Mike Fitz, explore.org's resident naturalist, said during a live conversation about the death that the nonprofit hosted on Monday. "The risks that they face are real. Their lives can be hard, and their deaths can be painful."
Explore.org streams the bear cameras and helps organize Fat Bear Week.
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