<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=10UOOq_0vs2HLg300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=10UOOq_0vs2HLg300" width="1200" height="1078" ><figcaption>Data: Explore.org ; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios</figcaption></figure>The pageant to choose the <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2023/06/22/katmai-national-park-fat-bears-alaska">bulkiest bear</a> is out of hibernation. Why it matters: Fat Bear Week, the contest where the public can pick their favorite fattened-up bear at Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, drew in nearly <a href="https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/news/weigh-in-with-fat-bears-at-katmai-national-park-for-fat-bear-week.htm">1.4 million votes</a> from fans across the world last year. <ul><li>Last year's chunky champion was 128 Grazer, a fierce mother who is returning to the salmon-slurping showdown this year.</li></ul>The (really) big picture: The contest celebrates the resilience of the estimated <a href="https://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisit/bear-watching.htm">2,200 bears</a> that call the park home and the biological richness of the area, where there are more brown bears than people.<ul><li>The park's bears have been gorging on Brooks River sockeye salmon throughout the summer in preparation for hibernation. </li></ul>How it works: Single elimination. So many salmon. One winner.<ul><li>The competition is a bracket-style face-off (think March Madness for the furry mammals) where you can vote for the bear you think "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears."</li><li>Viewers vote for the chubbiest champ on <a href="https://explore.org/fat-bear-week#about">Explore.org</a>, the multimedia organization that facilitates the contest.</li><li>Fans can watch <a href="https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls">live cams</a> of the park, where they can catch glimpses of the <a href="https://explore.org/meet-the-bears#bear-903">12 bears</a> competing.</li><li>Fat Bear Week runs from Wednesday to Oct. 8, otherwise known as Fat Bear Tuesday.</li></ul>Friction point: The viral contest is celebrating 10 years of the battle for the burliest bear — but this year, a brutal reminder of the reality of nature delayed the unveiling of the bears by a day.<ul><li>Cameras set up in the park to stream footage of the bears to viewers around the world captured the moment an anticipated competitor, a female dubbed Bear 402, was <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/online-voting-alaskas-fat-bear-week-contest-starts-114417351">killed</a> by a male during a fight Monday.</li><li>"National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities," park spokesperson Matt Johnson said in a <a href="https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/news/death-of-a-bear-and-fat-bear-week-bracket-postponed-at-katmai-national-park.htm">statement</a>. "Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive."</li></ul>Match No. 1 is a showdown between 519 and 909 Jr.: Two ladies hunting to be crowned the chunkiest.<ul><li>519 is a nearly 3-year-old female going through her "awkward" adolescent years who was thrust suddenly into independence when she was separated from her mother. </li><li>909 Junior descends from Fat Bear royalty. Her grandmother was the 2018 champion.</li><li>The winner will take on the rotund reigning champ, Grazer.</li></ul>The intrigue: The record-holding round boy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/10/05/fat-bear-week-winner-2021/">480 Otis</a>, the inaugural fat bear champion who took home three more titles, is not competing in this year's bracket.<ul><li>The FOAT (fattest of all time) has not been seen this year, prompting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Dy3KHXs0g">speculation</a> the roughly 30-year-old bear could have retired from competition in a different salmon spot.</li><li>But two-time winner 747, described as a "giant among bears," is back in the competition pack this year. </li></ul>Match No. 2, for which voting also began Wednesday, is pinning 909 — 909 Junior's mother and a skilled angler — against 903 Gully, a young male with an appetite for birds.What's next: Voting for the clash of the chubbiest between 519 and 909 Junior and 909 and 903 Gully closes at 9 p.m. ET.<ul><li>Let the hungry (bear) games begin.</li></ul>Go deeper: <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/05/fat-bear-week-katmai">Fat Bear Week is here: Meet the contestants</a></div></body>

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Fat Bear Week 2024 roars ahead after delay

The pageant to choose the bulkiest bear is out of hibernation. Why it matters: Fat Bear Week, the contest where the public can pick their favorite fattened-up bear at Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, drew in nearly 1.4 million votes from fans across the world last year. Last year's...

Fat Bear Week 2024 roars ahead after delay

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