Fat Bear Week, a beloved annual event at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, celebrates the impressive size of the park’s brown bears as they prepare for their long winter hibernation. This year’s festivities kick off on October 2, when enthusiasts can start casting their votes online for their favorite colossal bears in a tournament-style competition.
On September 30, the eagerly awaited adult contestants will be unveiled, and voting will run from October 2 to October 8. The contest drew a remarkable 1.3 million votes in the previous year, highlighting the deep connection and enthusiasm bears inspire among viewers. Dedicated fans can watch these bears feed on sockeye salmon through live streams at explore.org throughout the summer.
This week, organizers excitedly introduced the four contestants for the Fat Bear Jr. contest. The event features these young cubs in a heartfelt competition, further emphasizing the impact of the brown bears’ resilience in the preserve. Naomi Boak from the Katmai Conservancy noted during the livestreamed announcement that last year’s junior champ will be back to take on the exciting challenge of the adult bracket.
Included among the contestants are two returning champions from previous years: 909 Jr. and another familiar face. Despite being nearly four years old, 909 Jr. still qualifies as a cub, having stayed close to his aunt after being separated from his mother. The competition also features an emotional favorite, the young cub of Grazer — last year’s adult champion. Tragically, the cub’s sibling perished this summer following a confrontation with a dominant adult male bear named Chunk, a moment that was captured on the park’s live cameras.
Adult male brown bears can weigh between 600 to 900 pounds (approximately 270 to 410 kilograms) during mid-summer. As they indulge in the rich supply of migrating salmon, which can see each bear consuming up to 30 fish a day, these impressive mammals can tip the scales at over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) by the time they settle in for hibernation. Conversely, female bears tend to be about one-third smaller in size.
