Anchorage, Alaska (AP) – After roaring socky salmon all summer, the Alaska Peninsula’s most haughty brown bears check out who they’ll be named Fat Bear in a highly popular online voting contest called Fat Bear Week.
The online casting vote starting Tuesday will be named “128 Junior” by the winners of the 11 mammoth brown bears and last week’s Cubs competition. She is a “Glaser” turnip, two-time defending fat bear week champion at Katmai National Park and Preserve, looking for a third title.
The contest, which began in 2014, aims to showcase the resilience of brown bears, each packing pounds to survive in each fall, primarily by gobbling salmon on the Brooks River, a remote reserve of about 300 miles (482 km) southwest of the plane. The public can see the bears on explore.org Live stream camera Before you decide which creature you like.
How to vote for Fat Bear Week
The 12 contestants announced Monday will face off in a single-elimination bracket-style tournament. All votes will be held online www.fatbearweek.orgThe winner was declared September 30th.
In the first round, eight bears are squared in four separate contests. The four winners advance to the second round and face four bears who receive the first Byebeth.
Katmai has approximately 2,200 brown bears and is home to a 6,562 square miles (16,997 square kilometers) park on the Alaska Peninsula, extending from the southwest corner of the state towards the Aleutians. To be featured in the contest, the Bears must frequently visit the Main Brook Camp area.
There are several colorful characters in the contest
The contestants include many colorful characters, from bears called “Frotatos,” to bear nicknames for stomping dances, to those who place their feet on their hearts as if they were pledging their loyalty to the flag while waiting for the fish to arrive.
The two contestants once dominated men who were adapting to new reality. One was once at the top of the bear hierarchy, but now it is an old man from the river. The other is adapted to life with a broken jaw that is not properly healed.
You can find the complete list here.
Voting isn’t just about weight
The brown bear of the Katomai is one of the largest in the world. Mike Fitz, a naturalist at Explore.org who launched the Fat Bear Contest while being a Ranger in Katmai, said there is the only Bears on nearby Kodiak Island.
The weight of a male bear in Katmai can exceed 1,000 pounds (454 kg) by September or October during the summer of approximately 700-900 pounds (318 kg to 408 kg). However, even a 1,400 pound (635 kg) man is not uncommon.
Female bears are about half to two-thirds of the size of an adult male.
However, the contests are not only how big the bears are, but they are also proving the point in defeating “Chunk”, one of the biggest bears in the Brooks River for the past two years.
Voters can consider the challenges that some contestants had to overcome, such as the female bears protecting young people and producing milk for the cubs.
Rich salmon equals fat bear
Factors other than girth can be considered when voting, but this may be the year when weight plays a role.
Brooks Falls is famous for its brown bears hooking salmon from the air as the fish attempt to jump upstream to reach the spawning ground.
Not much happened this year as extraordinary salmon runs reduced the need to compete for fishing spots at waterfalls.
“We really hope we have a delicious bear that we’ve never seen at this event,” Fitz said. In fact, authorities call one contestant a “cruise ship” because of its plumpness.
