Katmai National Park’s Fat Bear Week is underway, with the public choosing which brown bear it considers most successful at building fat reserves for winter. Voting runs Sept. 22–29, excluding weekends, and organizers will announce the champion Sept. 29.
The bracket-style annual contest began in 2014 and features Katmai bears building winter reserves by feeding on salmon. Last year, more than 1.7 million votes came from over 100 countries; Bear 32, nicknamed Chunk, won with almost 100,000.
Organizers describe Fat Bear Week as subjective. Bears rely on accumulated fat during hibernation, when they do not eat or drink and lose about one-third of their body weight; mother bears also need reserves to nurse newborn cubs. The article profiles bears including sisters 910 and 909, adolescent 620, Gully, Marshmallow, Backpack and Bucky.
