“Fat Bear Week – an annual celebration of success. All bears are winners but only one true champion will emerge.”

This week, October 4-10 is Fat Bear Week at the Katmai National Park & Preserve in Alaska. In this sports-style bracket, the bears of the park “compete” against each other to see who can be the fittest – or fattest – of them all. “For bears, fat equals survival. Each winter, bears enter the den where they will not eat or drink until they emerge in spring. During this time, they may lose up to one-third of their body weight as they rely solely on their fat reserves. Survival depends on eating a year’s worth of food in six months.”

Take a look at some of the links below for more information on the conservancy and Fat Bear Week. Thank you to Owen Lockhart for keeping us updated on the festivities.

Bear #435 “Holly” (2019 Fat Bear champion) taking a well-deserved nap on the shore of Naknek Lake.

https://explore.org/fat-bear-week

https://katmaiconservancy.org/

Quoted Article: https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/fat-bear-week.htm