Fat Bear Week 2023: How to vote for America's largest brown bears

Voters will decide which Alaskan grizzly reigns supreme

435 Holly. Photo: NPS Photo

747. Photo: NPS Photo

284. Photo: NPS Photo

128 Grazer. Photo: NPS Photo

151 Walker. Photo: NPS Photo

32 chunk. Photo: NPS Photo

Otis the bear weighs more than 450 kilograms. Reuters

Bear 747 was named after the jumbo airliner. Photo: of L Law

Bear 856 is one of the most dominant bears in his habitat in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Photo: L Law

Bear 164 was first identified as a sub-adult in 2019 and is about 6 years old. Photo: T Carmack

Otis the bear has won Fat Bear week four times. Photo: L Law

This photo shows a rotund Bear 901 as voters select the fattest bear in Alaska. Photo: L Law

Bear 854, named Divot, hunts for salmon in the river. Photo: K Moore

Bear 435, named Holly, is just 2.5 years old. Photo: E Johnston

This photograph shows a slimmed-down version of Bear 435. Photo: T Carmack

Bear 335 is from Holly the bear's most recent litter, the NPS said. Photo: K Moore

Bear 32, named Chunk, is one of the most dominant bears in the falls, the US National Park Service said. Photo: L Law

Bear 32 searches for fish in the river. Photo: L Law

Bear 151 hopes to catch a fresh salmon as it bulks up for winter. Photo: L Law

Bear 854, named Divot, prowls the falls in Alaska. Photo: K Moore

Bear 128, named Grazer, is one of the more dominant female bears in the falls, the NPS said. Photo: L Law

Bear 128, like all of Alaska's brown bears, has put on considerable weight before hibernation season. Photo: L Law

This photo shows a slimmed-down Otis. Photo: C Rohdenberg

Bear 856 is about 20 years old. Photo: C Rohdenberg

This photo shows a slimmed-down Bear 747. Photo: C Rohdenberg

Votes are being cast in the US to determine which bear will win Fat Bear Week 2022. Photo: T Carmack

More than 800,000 votes were cast in last year's Fat Bear Week. Photo: T Carmack

Bear 335 struts around Katmai National Park in Alaska. Photo: T Carmack

Leaner times: Otis the bear stands in a river at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Reuters

Otis, known for his flappy right ear, does not let his missing teeth deter him from chowing down on fresh salmon. Reuters

Brown bear cub 128, front, stands by a river fattening up before hibernation at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Reuters

Brown bear cub 909 is getting ready for hibernation season by fattening up before its months-long rest. Reuters

Brown bear 503 stands in a river hunting for salmon to fatten up before hibernation at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Reuters

Brown bear 128 stands in a river hunting for salmon. Reuters

Brown bear 435. Grizzlies are omnivores that also gorge on berries. Reuters

Brown bears used to roam widely across the US. Now they are found only in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. AP

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.

Bear 747 is the reigning Fat Bear Week champion. Photo: L Law

• 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.