Fat Bear Week arrives as the biggest brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park battle for title

Get ready for a grizzly competition…. because Fat Bear Week is back.

Twelve chunky brown bears that have gorged themselves in preparation for hibernation at Alaska’s Katmai National Park are in the running for the title.

Of more than 2,000 brown bears in the park, these are the heftiest and will be judged by online voters on the weight they gained as they fattened up for winter, feasting on abundant sockeye salmon at Brooks River and Falls – an area famous for its leaping salmon and as a fishing hole for Alaskan bears. 

Among the competitors are seasoned favorites returning for another crack at the title  – and some newcomers.

Reigning champion Otis has once again been selected for the competition. Fat Bear Week creator Mike Fitz said: ‘Never underestimate Otis’. Quite right, too. Otis has won more titles than any other brown bear. He was crowned champion in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021. 

He will go up against the likes of 2020 winner Bear 747, dubbed Bear Force One by fans. Also returning is fan favorite Chunk who despite being one of Brooks River’s most dominant males, which means he claims the best fishing spots, he is yet to claim the title of fattest bear. 

Also in the running this year is Bear 435 – Holly – the champion in 2019. Since being identified at Katmai in 2001, she has given birth to many litters of cubs. One of her daughters, Bear 335, identified by her tracking number, who is living on her own for the first time will compete in this year’s first round. 

The week, which launches on October 5 when online voting opens. Each day sees two bears pitted against each other in a knock-out round, culminating in the overall winner being revealed on Fat Bear Tuesday, on October 11.

Katmai’s brown bears are among the largest in the world with males weighing from 600-900lbs in summer. By October and November their weight can increase to more than 1,000lbs as they prepare for a winter in hibernation, during which they don’t eat, drink, urinate or defecate, and can slow their heart rate to just eight beats per minute.  

Bear 435 Holly is was the champion in 2019. Holly’s fur has been described as ‘lightly toasted marshmallow’ and she has given birth to many litters of cubs since being identified in 2001.

Bear 335 is Holly’s daughter and will competing in the first round. She’s a newcomer to the competition this year and is living on her own for the first time. The bear is known for being playful and friendly (pictured July and September)

‘To get fat, bears gorge on the richest and most easily obtainable foods they can find. In Katmai National Park, that most often means salmon,’ it said. 

The bears in Katmai are preparing for Winter and are fatting up to ‘satisfy their profound hunger’ before hunkering down for the colder months, Explore.com, which runs the competition, said on its website. 

‘Dozens of bears gather at Brooks River to feast on salmon from late June until mid October. Perhaps no other river on Earth offers bears the chance to feed on salmon for so long.’ 

Bears can lose around one-third of their body weight during hibernation as they ‘do not eat or drink’ during that period. 

In this year’s competition, on Wednesday Bears 335 and 164 – identified by their tracking numbers – are battling it out. 

Bear 335 is a medium sized subadult with color-changing fur. Her coat appears a lovely white blonde in the early summer before turning tan by late summer, Explore.com said. 

She’s a newcomer to the competition this year and is living on her own for the first time. The bear is known for being playful and friendly, according to the Washington Post. 

Bear 151 Walker is descried a ‘light-bulb shaped’ with wide set ears and prominent dark eye rings. He’s known as a ‘tolerant and playful bear’ (pictured in July and August) 

Bear 854 Divot got her nickname as a cub, because she use to dig little divots in the gravel of Brooks Rivers in search of rotten fish (pictured in July and August) 

‘She’s grown in body size as well as mass during the last several months, and appears well positioned to enter hibernation in good health,’ Explore.com said in her biography. 

Her competitor Bear 164 was first identified in 2019 when he was two-and-a-half years old. 

Bear 164 is a clever one, inventing his own method to efficiently out fish the more experienced bears. He stands at the base of Brooks Falls, located in the park, near the deepest plunge pool. Salmon come ‘jumping through the air or falling down from above,’ leaving him with ample amounts of food. 

‘This is a spot that no other bear—currently or in the recent past—has tried to fish,’ Explore.com said. 

Also battling it out on Wednesday, is bears 747 and 856. 

Two rivals Bear 856 (pictured) and 747 will be competing against each other. 856 was the alpha of the river until he was outranked by his rival earlier this year (pictured in July and September)

Bear 747 is the reigning champion from last year’s competition (pictured in June and September)

Bear 747 is the reigning champion and is the biggest bear in the competition. 

‘When you see him in person, you’re like: “Yeah, there’s no comparison,”‘ super fan Kristyn Whatley told the Washington Post. ‘He’s definitely the fattest.’ 

747 – also known as Bear Force One – weighs around 1,400 pounds and is covered in various scars. He is often found fishing in the ‘jacuzzi,’ which is the best fishing spot in the river and a place bears often have to fight for a good spot. 

The floppy-eared mammal started out the season with reddish-brown fur that transforms into a dark chocolate brown. 

He will be facing his once-dominator 856, who he outranked by the end of summer after ascertaining his superiority. 

Bear 856 is known for being ‘quite bold and assertive toward other bears’ and has plenty of scars to prove it. 

The young adult male has become one of the biggest bears in the park after spending a decade being one of the scrawnier ones, according to Explore.com. 

He was once the top of the food chain until this summer, when 747 displaced him. 

He’s also got a bad reputation as a ‘bully,’ according to Whatley. 

On Thursday,  Bear 854, also known as Divot and Bear 151 Walker will be competing. 

Divot got her nickname as a cub, because she use to dig little divots in the gravel of Brooks Rivers in search of rotten fish. 

She is not shy when it comes to fighting off other bears and is has a distinctive scar circling her neck. The scars origins. however, wasn’t over a piece of salmon, but rather a tricky situation with a snare wire that left a one inch deep scar. 

32 Chunk is back against this year and has apparently leaned into a more dominant role (pictured in July and September) 

Unlike other bears, Divot has no problem with people and is often seen in areas where people gather in the park, according to Explore.com.  

Divot has also reportedly gained a surplus of weight this year and is having trouble maneuvering, according to the Post. 

Walker, on the other hand, is descried a ‘light-bulb shaped’ with wide set ears and prominent dark eye rings. 

He’s known as a ‘tolerant and playful bear’ during his younger years and loves to ‘play flight.’ As he’s gotten older, he’s become more assertive and is one of the most dominant bears in the competition, according to Explore.com. 

‘He’s a really big guy, and he’s willing to throw his weight around,’ Fitz told the Post.   

Also competing is Bears 901 and 909 Yearling. 

Bear 901 is keen on ‘defending her fishing spots from other bears,’ according to Explore.com. This year, she will be competing as an adult bear and could be giving birth to her first batch of cubs on Spring. 

Beat 480, also known as Otis, has won more Fat Bear titles than any other competitor, winning in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021 (pictured in July and September)

She’ll need ample body fat to her fertilized eggs to implant into her uterus when she starts her hibernation. Female bears experience delayed implantation, which allows her body to ‘unconsciously determine whether she is healthy enough to bear offspring.’ 

Her competitor is only two years old and has recently developed the confidence to catch fish on her own.  

On Friday, Bears 435 and 32 face off the previous bracket winners. 

Bear 435, also known as Holly, was the champion in 2019 and her daughter 335 is also in the competition this year. 

Holly’s fur has been described as ‘lightly toasted marshmallow’ and she has given birth to many litters of cubs since being identified in 2001. 

The bear’s maternal instinct is one of the books. She successfully care for one of her offspring who had a limp and even adopted a lone yearling into her family. Even her latest yearling 335 suffered porcupine quills in one of her front paws and Holly managed to care for it and 335’s foot fully healed. 

Bear 164 is a clever one, inventing his own method to efficiently out fish the more experienced bears. He stands at the base of Brooks Falls, located in the park, near the deepest plunge pool. Salmon come ‘jumping through the air or falling down from above,’ leaving him with ample amounts of food (pictured in June and September)

However, she separated from 335 in Spring of this year. 

Her competitor 32 Chunk is back against this year, but is reportedly behind schedule. 

‘He kind of fell into the background of the bears this year,” Fitz told the Washington Post. ‘He didn’t seem to get involved in too much drama, although he has a lot of scars and wounds on him.’ 

He’s become more dominant in the past few years and is willing to challenge others. 

On Saturday, Bears 128 Grazer and 480 Otis will compete. 

Grazer is an expert fisherwoman and is known for running off big males, the Washington Post reported. Her children – known as the Grazerettes – also competed, but lost, in the Fat Bear Junior competition. 

 

Bear 901 is keen on ‘defending her fishing spots from other bears. This year, she will be competing as an adult bear and could be giving birth to her first batch of cubs on Spring (pictured in July and September)

Bear 128, also known as Grazer, is an expert fisherwoman and is known for running off big males (pictured in June and September)

Fitz said it was ‘surprising’ that she was still toting around her cubs, as she had previously separated from her children around this time. 

Otis, on the other hand, is one of the oldest bears in the competition and has teeth problems. He is currently missing two teeth and he others are worn down. 

He is known for his patience and waits for salmon to come to him and once ate 42 salmons using this method. 

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk