Who ’s in your bracket for the parking lot ’s track of most mammoth mammal ? We ’ve got our money on Chunk , Walker , or Holly for the coveted deed of conveyance of Fat Bear Week champion .
Bulbous bruins . Gargantuan grizzlies . weighty carnivore . Hell yeah , it’sFat Bear Week .
The annual contest to crown the good , fattest brown bear dwell at Brooks River in Alaska ’s Katmai National Park begins Wednesday and runs until Oct. 5 . The competition consist of a undivided - excreting bracket to decide which of the river ’s 12 bear did the best job preparing for winter hibernation .
Photo: Courtesy of L Law
Because they ’ll be cooped up all wintertime in their dens without food or swallow , these brown bear need to prepare themselves to suffer up to one - third of their body weight , according to theNational Park Service . So this is a jubilation of a summer ’s Charles Frederick Worth of skillful work .
When it comes to voting , you could make your option base on a variety of factors : pure heaviness , weight reach , beneficial name , personality , best fuzz colouring , anything !
Now , let’smeet the contenders , courtesy ofexplore.org :
32 Chunk
One of the most prevailing bear on the river , where he ’s inhabit since at least 2007 . Even in the thin calendar month , he ’s tow around a massive galley . He gets a first - round bye in the bracket .
128 Grazer
An first-class fisherman , she ’s the river ’s consummate mama bear . She ’ll even protect her cub proactively , square up up with the larger male bears . She faces 435 Holly in the first troll .
131
light-haired bear ! She ’s only about 3 years sometime , so she ’s still figuring thing out without her mom around . That means it ’s harder to get food , so she might not reach her full , pudgy potential difference for a few years . She has a matchup with 812 in the first round .
132’s Spring Cub
The Fat Bear Junior champion ! He ’s only 9 months old but has already labialise out into a furry nut of mass , ready to face the cock-a-hoop boy and girls . He ’s make a first - troll bye .
151 Walker
He ’s one of the largest bears on the river who does n’t really like other bear any longer . He weighed more than 1,000 pounds last year and is now even bigger . First up : 634 Popeye .
402
This bear has given parentage to seven litters at least , and she might be get up for more . She take plenty of fat taciturnity to support bears in her den during hibernation , and it appears she might be getting ready to have another litter . In the first bout , she has 480 genus Otis .
435 Holly
The 2019 wiz , and a great mom who ’s helped hurt laddie heal and eventually thrive . Holly has been around since 2001 and will be a unnerving opposer for anyone . She gets 128 Grazer in the first rhythm . Big matchup .
480 Otis
Does the Fat Bear Week fable have another form of address in him ? He ’s the 2016 and 2017 champ , and he win the inaugural Fat Bear Tuesday in 2014 . He ’s been at the river for more than 20 years , so the tricky veteran can still fish with the good of them . He ’ll face 402 first .
503
435 Holly ’s adopted Word , this big guy is now enrol his prime feeding years . He ’ll even still play with other bears , not yet becoming a dominant grownup like others on the river . He ’ll bask a first - round bye .
634 Popeye
He ’s in his early twenty , too , so he knows how to work around the younger , expectant bear . He ’s dealt with a few injuries in his life , but he ’s still up to fish . He gets 151 Walker in the first round .
747
The most predominant male bear on the river , suit of the numerical designation usually reserved for a jumbo jet . This handsome boi was crowned 2020 ’s Fat Bear Week wizard , so fans are likely expect another cracking show in this year ’s competition . He often fish in one of the river ’s jacuzzi , and looks to librate a tremendous 1,400 punt . He also have a first - rung bye .
812
A favorable hombre , 812 will sometimes angle alongside bigger bear who grant him to be there . He likes to tolerate on rocks when he bask his Salmon River meal . He get 131 in the first daily round .
Daily Paws ' pick:747 . All herald our Mountainous King .
The voting boast one matchup per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , starting with 435 Holly vs. 128 Grazer on Wednesday . balloting is open from 12–9 p.m. easterly time onexplore.org . All it ’ll cost you is your e-mail address .
well-chosen vote !
