Voting in Katmai National Park’s famed Fat Bear Week was underway Wednesday after a bear killed certainly one of this yr’s rivals and delayed the bracket reveal by a day.
Bear #469 attacked and killed bear #402 Monday morning at Brooks River within the Alaska park, the National Park Service stated in a launch, pushing Monday’s bracket disclose to Tuesday.
The assault and subsequent killing was captured stay on webcams which were arrange within the park to comply with the bears all summer season. Nonprofit discover.org, which hosts and broadcasts the bear livestreams, held a stay dialog Monday to debate the assault.
It was not instantly clear what prompted the incident between the bears.
“National parks like Katmai defend not solely the wonders of nature, but additionally the tough realities,” spokesperson Matt Johnson stated within the park service launch. “Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to outlive.”
Bear #469 was not included in the bracket, launched Tuesday.
How Fat Bear Week works
Fat Bear Week, which the park service calls “an annual celebration of success,” places 12 bears within the Alaskan Peninsula to the take a look at earlier than they head into hibernation for the winter.
Voting takes place over the course of seven days, culminating in Fat Bear Tuesday, when one bear is topped the fattest of the season.
“People could vote utilizing any standards they see match,” the National Park Service stated. “In the top, one bear will reign supreme.”
Explore.org is encouraging voters to “vote for the bear you imagine greatest exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.”
“Fat equals survival” for bears, who head into their dens for months with none meals and will lose as much as one-third of their physique weight throughout that point, the park service stated. Surviving hibernation means bulking up on a yr’s price of salmon and different snacks in solely six months.
Large male brown bears can weigh as much as 1,500 kilos in coastal areas or as much as 500 kilos in inside areas, in keeping with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and may be 30-50% bigger than feminine brown bears.
They weigh the least once they depart hibernation within the spring and may enhance their weight by greater than 50% by the point they re-enter the den within the fall.
The fats bears of 2024
This yr’s contest pits eight bears towards one another within the first spherical of the one elimination bracket. Voting started Wednesday and can proceed on Thursday.
An extra 4 bears earned a bye to the second spherical of voting, which is able to happen on Friday and Saturday.
In spherical one, Bear #909 Jr., who gained this yr’s junior contest, will face Bear #519, a feminine just lately unbiased from her household. The winner will then attempt to beat Bear #128, also referred to as Grazer, a mom bear who holds final yr’s Fat Bear title.
Grazer is described as one of many “most formidable, profitable, and adaptable bears” at Brooks River, in keeping with the park service. In July, each of her cubs had been “swept over Brooks Falls” towards Bear #32, also referred to as Chunk, who attacked and injured one of many cubs earlier than Grazer might come to their rescue.
The injured cub later died and the surviving cub competed in Fat Bear Junior 2024, in keeping with the park service.
Chunk, who the park service stated is the “most dominant bear on the Brooks River,” has a bye and can face the winner of the round-one matchup between Bear #856, a really giant grownup male who is among the greatest on the river, and Bear #504, a mom bear and newcomer to the competitors.
In one other spherical one face-off, Bear #903, a smaller male and one other Fat Bear Week beginner, will meet Bear #909, the mom of the junior contest’s winner. The winner of their matchup goes head-to-head with Bear #747, a two-time Fat Bear Week victor so giant he was named after an airplane and was as soon as estimated to weigh 1,400 kilos.
The last spherical one matchup is between Bear #151, a big grownup male nicknamed “Walker,” and Bear #901, a feminine who returned to the river alone after her first litter of cubs didn’t survive. The winner will transfer on to spherical two the place they may meet Bear #164, a male who has grown rather a lot in the previous few years, now showing about as tall and lengthy as Bear #747.
Voting concludes Tuesday and the fattest bear might be declared the winner.