Update: Unbeknownst to me there had been a single-elimination Fat Bear Junior competition to select one cub to compete against the adults.
The winner was (drumroll please):
With tough competition from 909’s Spring Cub and the other contenders
Regret the omission.
Original post:
What had started (for us) with a casual tip from an FT Alphaville commenter last year is now being reported by Newsweek, USA Today, CNN, the Seattle Times, the Wall Street Journal (chubby cubbies), Reuters and any number of other outlets.
We will go direct to the source.
Dateline: King Salmon Alaska, September 29, 2021
News Release
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s …. a very fat bear! Bracket for 2020 Fat Bear Week (9/30-10/6) Now Available
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Contact: Amber Kraft
King Salmon, AK – Katmai National Park and Preserve, – No capes are needed for these furry superheroes. They may not be faster than a speeding bullet, but despite the weight they are carrying, these burly beasts can still run faster than most humans. These brown bears’ power of packing on the pounds gets them through the winter and able to live to compete another year. With or without the lasso of truth around us, our story remains the same: fat bears = healthy bears.
While the plumpest of the plump work to gain even more, Katmai’s bears of Brooks River will compete in head-to-head matchups in Fat Bear Week’s single elimination tournament. Your votes decide who will wear the mantle of 2020’s Fattest Bear. We are moving this voting from Katmai National Park’s Facebook page to explore.org/fat-bear-week hosted by explore.org. Experience the excitement of survival of the fattest when Fat Bear Week 2020 begins Wednesday, September 30th! Matchups will be open for voting from 12 - 10 p.m. Eastern (8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Alaska).
Does Bear 747 have a chance to get his first championship by dethroning last year’s reigning champion, 435 Holly? Will a new bear come from the outside and topple the competition for the ultimate win? Can multi time champ 480 Otis reclaim his spot on top for one more year? While we can’t foresee the future champion, we do know the paunchy bear will only achieve their win with all of you casting your votes.
This competition is brought to you through the partnership of Katmai National Park and Preserve, explore.org and the Katmai Conservancy. If you want to check out the live bear cams, you can find them here.
Ready to check out the competition for this year’s crown? Here is the 2020 Fat Bear Week Bracket for you to fill out! Then remember to come back to explore.org/fat-bear-week daily from Wednesday, September 30th through Championship Tuesday, October 6th. Remember, with great Fat Bears comes a great responsibility to vote!
That's from the National Park Service website.
This release has more more detail:
Competitor lineup with slider comparison photos:
Bears are presented in numerical order with their slider photos, a brief summary of how to identify the bear and the bears biography....
....MUCH MORE
It's morning in Alaska and the bears are just now making their way to the breakfast buffet:
During June and July the alpha bears hang out at the falls upstream, feasting on salmon and getting enormous while the smaller bears are pushed down to less favorable fishing spots.The big ones usually come back sometime between now and mid-September before waddling off for the winter.Here's the suite of all the cameras.
And here are the "Bears of Brooks River, 2021"
From Last October's "Where The Bears Are":
Really, really fat bears, up to 1400 pounds (635 kg)*Do click through.
Here's 747 doing his bear thing:
He is very, very big.
