In Alaska, it's survival of the thickest: the competition to find America's chunkiest bear has begun.
Fat Bear Week is an annual celebration of the large predators that roam Katmai National Park. Potential voters can watch the bears bulking up for winter via live-stream on www.fatbearweek.org, where they are encouraged to learn more about the lives of the animals as well as Katmai's ecosystem.
Voting for Fat Bear Week began on Wednesday and the competition features a single-knockout bracket.
This year's competition features 12 burly bears, including last year's champion, 747 – a bear so large they named him after a jumbo jet. He was estimated to weigh 635kg at one point and “is typically very fat with a low-hanging belly”, the National Park Service said.
His biggest competition – literally – this year may be Chunk, who has frequented the same prime fishing spots as the 2022 champion.
Who are the other Fat Bear Week 2023 contenders?
Chunk isn't the only brown bear seeking to dethrone last year's champion.
There are 10 other bears in the competition this year, all considered to be some of the most dominant in Alaska.
Here are the other contenders:
- 128 Grazer: This female is one of the fattest to hunt in Brooks River, where she chases down salmon. Grazer has raised two litters of cubs and is known for her “conspicuously blond” ears.
- 151 Walker: This pear-shaped bear was first identified in 2009 and frequently fishes in Brooks Falls. Once a playful bear, Walker now displays his dominance at the falls by chasing bears away from his preferred fishing spot.
- 164: Bear 164 set up his fishing spot at the popular Brooks Falls. He has light brown fur in the early summer that darkens later during the season.
- 284: This female bear has fished in the Brooks River since 2011. Bear 284 has perky ears and a prominent shoulder hump, the NPS said.
- 402: She is the mother of at least eight litters, the most of any bears at Brooks River. Bear 402 can also be fat in the late summer and fall when not caring for her cubs, the NPS said.
- 428: The three-and-a-half-year-old bear has blond ears and light brown fur. She is the offspring of 128 Grazer.
- 435 Holly: The 2019 Fat Bear Week champion can be very fat by early autumn and her appearance can also be similar to the “colour of a lightly toasted marshmallow”, the NPS said. She has raised several cubs.
- 480 Otis: Otis is one of the most decorated bears in Fat Bear Week history, winning the inaugural competition in 2014. He also won it in 2016, 2017 and 2021. Otis was emaciated before arriving at Brooks River in July, but has since grown to an impressive size.
- 901: This medium-sized female arrived to Brooks River with three cubs this summer and has mostly been cautious in her hunting. One of her cubs disappeared in September as 901 was fishing in the river.
- 806 Jr: This bear is a first-year cub and escaped an attack by a rival over the summer. He was named 2023 Fat Bear Junior Champion.
