Following up on September 29's "UPDATED—It's Fat Bear Week And A Media Frenzy!".
From the New York Times. October 6:
The brown bear was named the winner of the annual contest in which people vote for their favorite chunky bear at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
Move over Bear 747. In the battle of the bulkiest bear in Alaska, there’s a new heavyweight champion at Katmai National Park and Preserve.
On Tuesday night, 480 Otis was declared the winner of Fat Bear Week, an online competition that celebrates the bears’ pre-hibernation weight gain from late June to October, drawing hundreds of thousands of votes from bear buffs.
At more than 25 years old, Otis is one of the older bears at the park, which encompasses about 4.1 million acres in southwest Alaska and is home to about 2,200 brown bears.
Otis is now a four-time champion, having won the inaugural contest, in 2014, as well as in 2016 and 2017. This year, Otis earned 51,230 votes in the final round to beat bear 151 Walker’s 44,834 votes. Nearly 800,000 votes were cast in the weeklong contest, which featured 12 bears.
“Bears are fascinating animals and lead challenging lives, and I think people are happy to celebrate their success each season,” said Amber Kraft, a spokeswoman for the park....
....MUCH MORE
The people have spoken! The portly patriarch of paunch persevered to pulverize the Baron of Beardonkadonk in the final match of #FatBearWeek 2021. 480 Otis can now boast a bevy of bests w/ this fourth 1st place finish. As we celebrate, like a true champ 480 is still chowing down. pic.twitter.com/rLvm7pvGJW
— Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) October 6, 2021
