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The annual online popularity contest for brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park concluded with a narrow victory for bear 89 Backpack over 910, highlighting the event's origins and the bears' preparation for winter hibernation.
The annual online poll, which showcases brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, ended with a battle between two of the region's most titanic residents.
If you're unfamiliar the popularity contest, or missed this year's festivities, our Fat Bear Week group chat will get you up to speed. I just checked the final tally: 89 Backpack got about 103,000 votes while 910 had about 98,000. A pretty close result!89 Backpack's name is a reference to how he would climb onto his mother's back when swimming in the river. His mother Holly won Fat Bear Week in 2019.
About 20 years old, he's known for being a calm fella. While most adult male bears show aggression to their competitors, Backpack uses a quiet strength to gain access to his favourite fishing spots. As a Paddington superfan, I'm thrilled to see all this bear chat but I don't really get what Fat Bear Week is. It's like a popularity contest for a group of bears living in this one specific national park in Alaska.
It was started by a fellow bear enthusiast! Back in 2012, cameras were installed throughout the park so people could watchSuper relaxing. One year, a viewer posted a before-and-after comparison of how much one of the bears had beefed up. This blew up on social media and eventually led to park rangers capitalising on the fan interest and starting up the week-long comp.
I think it's safe to say we all appreciate them for kick-starting one of the most wholesome events on the internet calendar. The bears are bulking up so they can survive off their fat stores when they hibernate for winter. They're basically prepping for a months-long famine. Ohhh yeah, it's spring here, which means it's autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
How much do you reckon you need to eat before hibernation? I saw Katmai rangers saying the bears can eat more than 30 salmon a day. I can't imagine having the same meal every day 🥴I've just done the maths on that. With salmon about 4,500 calories a pop, it means these ursine bodybuilders have a typical daily intake of about 135,000 calories!
And I thought my bulking seasons were gnarly…I stuck with the reigning champ, 32 Chunk. He copped a broken jaw last year and learned to adapt to his disability. Before that, he had been a Fat Bear Week runner-up four times, so I was happy to see the corpulent king defending his title. Too bad Bucky knocked him out in the first round!
I liked 131 Marshmallow — she had the cutest name. Apparently, this year she got "proportionally fatter than she has ever been". I have to root for a woman in a male-dominated field. Go girl!
Yes! We used to get the mini tournament, Fat Bear Week Junior, for the chubby cubbies, but that was scrapped. They competed with their mums in the big leagues this year 🥺One of the family units was 901 and her cub. During the season, 901 Jr was caught on the live stream with porcupine quills in its paw.
Hopefully it learned an important lesson about playing with wildlife! Riding on his mother's back is a pretty cute anecdote, and he sounds like a sweetheart. The comp's organisers said: "Backpack's quiet toughness has allowed him to find his niche alongside the biggest bears at Brooks River". Awww!
Plus, he's a bit of an underdog. He had a leg injury in when he was little and didn't put on much weight that summer, so people were wondering if he would survive. Now look at him!
Fat Bear Week Katmai National Park Brown Bears Alaska Hibernation