This “chubby” bear worked hard all summer, raised a young bear and ate salmon in order to successfully survive the hibernation, the park administration in the northernmost US state wrote on Instagram on Tuesday evening (local time). Grazer received significantly more votes (over 71,000) than her rival with around 30,000 votes.
Congratulations for the winner
Congratulations for the “Queen” quickly poured in on Instagram. “This is a victory for mothers everywhere,” wrote one follower. “Raise a glass to the queen,” congratulated a bear fan. «Congratulations to Chunk too. “You are both bear champions,” commented another. “Poor Chunk, with his voluptuous rear,” one user lamented about his inferior rival.
The park in southwest Alaska is hosting “Fat Bear Week” for the tenth time. Six females and six males had been in the race for the strange title for a week. After six rounds of voting, only two competitors faced each other in the final on the online platform “Explore.org”. More than a million votes were received from all over the world.
Big competition
The competition was literally huge. The mighty Bear 747, nicknamed Jumbo Jet, which was the winner in 2022, had a big boost while eating salmon again this summer. Eight-year-old bear No. 903, nicknamed “Gully,” was also in the race. He owed this to his preference for eating seagulls as well as salmon.
Online, Bear fans were able to watch the contestants on webcams catching salmon in the rapids of the Brooks River, view before-and-after photos and vote for their favorites. In spring the bears are still thin, but they have to build up fat reserves until autumn in order to survive the months of hibernation without food. They can lose a third of their body weight.
The estimated final weight is not the only deciding factor in the competition. Other factors such as feeding behavior, temperament and fishing skills also play a role.
Chunk against Grazer
Finalist Chunk became fatter and more dominant over the summer, said naturalist Mike Fitz in a video chat on the “Fat Bear” website. He just bravely did what he wanted without caring about the other bears. Grazer was praised as being “incredibly talented” at fishing and as a fierce mother.
Chunk, with an estimated body weight of 550 kilograms and a noticeable scar on his snout, stands out with his massive rump and low-hanging belly. He has been in the race several times, but has never made it to first place. Females weigh around a third less than male brown bears, but Grazer impressed with her colossal curves.
Grazer and Chunk had a tragic collision while fishing for salmon in the Brooks River in July. Two small Grazer juveniles were washed over a waterfall, right into Chunk’s fishing area. He attacked the offspring and injured one of the siblings so badly that he later died. Webcams recorded the incident. You can also see Grazer throwing herself on Chunk in vain to protect her cub.
Inform with the competition
After Grazer was crowned the “Fat Bear” winner, the national park paid tribute to all the fat bears in Katmai on Instagram and also thanked the salmon. “Without healthy salmon, there would be no healthy, fat bears,” the posting said.
With the curious competition, Katmai Park wants to provide information about the ecosystem and habitat of the more than 2,000 brown bears in the region and draw attention to dangers. The area has some of the largest brown bear and salmon populations in the world. Rangers warn that it would be a catastrophe if fish stocks were to decline as a result of climate change.
