Fats Bear Week competitor 32 Chunk has an advanced historical past with 2023 winner Grazer.
Man Runco/Katmai Conservancy
Fats Bear Week is a celebration of the brown bears of Katmai Nationwide Park and Protect in Alaska. It’s usually a time of pleasure and pleasant rivalry amongst people cheering on their favourite ursine opponents. Fats Bear Week didn’t begin as deliberate this yr. The park and its livestream associate Discover.org delayed the announcement of contestants after a stunning bear-on-bear battle within the Brooks River left one bear useless.
Horrified bear followers watched the battle unfold on a livestream. The battle occurred on Sept. 30, the scheduled day for the Fats Bear Week bracket reveal. The competitors is designed a bit like March Insanity in NCAA basketball. There’s a number of hype across the reveal of the contestants, that are the pudgiest bears within the park. Followers pore over the bears’ biographies and select which of them they’ll vote for in the course of the single-elimination match. The voting continues till a last fats bear emerges triumphant.
Discover.org naturalist Mike Fitz addressed the battle throughout what was purported to have been a bracket reveal occasion for the Fats Bear Week contestants. “The state of affairs that we handled at the moment was troublesome to witness,” Fitz mentioned. “We like to have a good time the success of bears with full stomachs and ample physique fats, however the ferocity of bears is actual. The dangers that they face are actual. Their lives are onerous and their deaths will be painful.”
The feud started as two bears met out within the river and engaged. An older feminine often called 402 fought with an older male often called 469. The male bear killed 402. “I don’t know why a bear would wish to expend a lot vitality attempting to kill one other bear,” mentioned Katmai ranger Sarah Bruce, saying it’s unusual to see a bear predating one other bear.
Warning, the video contains disturbing footage and evaluation of the bear assault.
The Fats Bear Week bracket reveal was moved to Tuesday night. The 12 contestants embody some acquainted faces. Final yr’s winner, 128 Grazer, is again to defend her crown. Heavyweight 32 Chunk, a dominant bear on the river, has been a high competitor in recent times, however has by no means received Fats Bear Week. “He excelled this summer time in a spot the place battle amongst bears is critical to take care of rank and entry to the best fishing spots,” Discover.org mentioned in Chunk’s bio. The 2022 champion 747, often called “Bear Drive One,” can be within the combine.
Bow down earlier than the queen. Grazer steamrolled the competitors throughout Fats Bear Week 2023.
F. Jimenez/NPS
There’s an added fringe of intrigue this yr since Chunk killed one in every of Grazer’s cubs earlier within the yr. “Her story this yr demonstrates that even essentially the most expert and formidable mom bears expertise hardship and loss,” Discover.org mentioned. Whereas Fats Bear Week is enjoyable, the bear battle and the loss of life of Grazer’s cub spotlight the cruel actuality of life within the wild. There’s room for each delight and sorrow when partaking with Fats Bear Week.
Voting kicks off on Wednesday, Oct. 2, and the ultimate spherical takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Grazer rolls in as a favourite, and her backstory would possibly sway bear followers into her camp. However nothing is definite. There may very well be upsets. It’s all right down to the human voters now.