Fat Bear Week Kicks Off in Alaska

The annual "Fat Bear Week" competition is set to begin in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. From October 2nd to 8th, the public can vote online for the plumpest bear that has best prepared itself for hibernation. The announcement was made on the National Park Service website.

"Fat Bear Week is an annual park competition celebrating the healthy appetites of brown bears and the thriving ecosystem they depend on. Bears feast on wild salmon in Alaska during one of the largest salmon runs on Earth, made possible by the pristine waters that originate in Katmai National Park and Preserve," the service stated.

Voting will take place on fatbearweek.org, where side-by-side photos of the bears before and after their weight gain will be posted for comparison.

From October 2nd to 8th, participants will vote for the largest and fattest brown bear, in their opinion. A ceremony will then be held to award the champion bear. As the organizers of Fat Bear Week note, this is a subjective competition.

The brown bears of Katmai reach their peak weight in late summer and early fall. Their survival during the winter depends on accumulating enough fat before denning, as bears do not eat or drink while hibernating and lose about a third of their body weight.

To gain weight for winter, they consume the most nutritious and accessible food they can find. In Katmai National Park, this is salmon. From late June to mid-October, dozens of bears gather at Brooks River to feast on these fish.

"Fat bears are successful bears. They illustrate the richness of Katmai National Park and Bristol Bay, Alaska, a wild region home to more brown bears than people and the largest and most productive runs of sockeye salmon remaining on the planet," the event organizers stated on their website.  

Fat Bear Week has been held since 2014. Last year, nearly 1.4 million votes were cast for the chubby bears from over 100 countries.