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Get Ready for Fat Bear Week!
Mark your calendars! September 23rd marks not only Rosh Hashanah, but also the start of Fat Bear Week, a beloved annual tradition celebrating the impressive weight gain of brown bears at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
These bears are preparing for a six-month hibernation, and every pound counts towards their survival. Park rangers track their progress, and the public votes on who best embodies “fatness and success.”
This isn’t just about who gains the most weight, but also the bears’ individual stories. The competition, structured like a March Madness bracket, includes previous champions like 32 Chunk, a massive male hoping for a comeback after a broken jaw, and 128 Grazer, a skilled fisher who won in 2023 and 2024 and whose cub just won the Fat Bear Junior title. Other contenders include 503, a rising star known for his friendliness, devoted mother 26, and 602, affectionately known as “flotato” for his Homer Simpson-esque napping habits.
Voting begins Tuesday at 9:00 am EST, with the winner announced on September 30th. This year’s bears enjoyed a plentiful salmon season, promising some impressive contenders.
While enjoying the competition, consider donating to the Otis Fund, which supports Katmai National Park, the fourth largest in the US. The fund honors Otis, the inaugural Fat Bear Week champion and a four-time winner. Though Otis is presumed gone, his legacy continues.
Fat Bear Week started as Fat Bear Tuesday in 2014 with a modest 1,700 votes. Its popularity exploded, leading to the week-long format, complete with updates, a Hall of Champions, and a live feed. In 2024, over 1.4 million votes were cast from 60 countries, a testament to the event’s growing global appeal.