Oct 10, 2024
Thrones are not surrendered lightly, it seems. Grazer, the massive mama bear who took home the 2023 Fat Bear Week crown, has done so again.
Grazer’s popularity was too much for runner-up Chunk to beat, even though Chunk is the fatter of the two. Grazer won 71,248 votes in Tuesday’s final. That was far more than Chunk's 30,468 votes.
Fat Bear Week is an annual contest that pits the brown bears of Alaska’s Katmai National Park in a competition in which people vote over the internet for the bear that best exemplifies “fatness and success.” The competition is subjective. That means it’s as much about storylines as waistlines. This year, Grazer’s story was enough to win plenty of fans’ hearts.
Grazer earned a surprise win last year. She's described by Katmai officials as “a large adult female with a long straight muzzle and conspicuously blond ears.” She also had an ugly run-in with Chunk. In July, Grazer and her two young cubs were hunting salmon at the edge of a waterfall. Her cubs were swept over the falls by the current. It carried them to the spot where Chunk was fishing. Chunk protected his territory by injuring one of the cubs. Grazer fought him off, but the cub died.
“We love the bears, but again it’s a clear reminder of how big and strong and powerful these animals actually are,” Mike Fitz said in a video. He's a naturalist with Fat Bear Week organizer Explore.org.
Held every fall since 2014, Fat Bear Week raises awareness of Alaska’s wildlife and the importance of protecting it, Katmai officials say. Grazer’s two wins are the first back-to-back victories since Otis won in 2016 and 2017.
Reflect: What makes you root for one side over another in a competition?
Photo of Grazer from Instagram courtesy of @katmainpp.
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