Voting has closed for this year’s Fat Bear Week and the winner has been announced.
Katmai National Park & Preserve and Explore.org host an annual Fat Bear Week showing off some of the park’s largest brown bears who are gorging themselves on salmon preparing for winter hibernation. They shared, “During hibernation, bears do not eat or drink and lose one-third of their body weight.”
Bears of all ages and sizes competed in the online bracket competition showing off not only their impressive weight gain but also their survival skills over the past several months.
After 1.7 million votes were tallied throughout the week, a champion was crowned – Chunk 32. The estimated 1,200-pound-plus bear had a rough year but managed not only to survive but thrive.
He appeared in June with a broken jaw that park officials believe happened during a fight during mating season. He managed to figure out how to eat while his jaw continued to heal on its own. Park officials do not administer veterinary care and let the bears live a truly wild life.
Katmai Conservancy posted, “Chunk is a prime example of what it means to be resilient. Facing a broken jaw throughout the summer, nobody knew what the season would look like for him, but there is no denying that he defied all expectations. Chunk got fat, and as we know, a fat bear is a bear ready to survive the winter. It’s what we celebrate with Fat Bear Week. And today, we celebrate Chunk.”
Chunk is this year’s winner, but all the competing bears are winners because “fat bears are successful bears” that will survive the winter. Learn more about the park and how you can help by visiting their website.
