Fat Bear Week 2020 is now in the book, and an over 1,400-pound monster claims the coveted name, the heaviest bear.
After a week of voting, Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve have crowned lucky bear 747 the thickest bear of them all.
Fat Bear Week is an annual event that is made like a bracket-style tournament. The competition celebrates these bears’ success with pre-hibernation at the Brooks River in Katmai National Park. In addition, Katmai National Park has one of the largest concentrations of brown bears in the world.
The park posted on their social media asking followers to vote between September 30 and October 6 for who they believe is this year’s huskiest hibernator. While all the bears are undoubtedly fat, there can only be one champion.
“For each set of two bears, vote for one who you think is the fattest,” the website explained. “The bear with the most votes advances.”
The national park has been keeping social media followers updated on the rankings during the event to see which bear will advance and which bear needs to hit the buffet more. The finals for 2020 were 32 ‘Chunk’ and 747.
Fat Bear Champion
In a tweet on Tuesday, the park finally announced the much-anticipated winner.
“The votes are in! You’ve crowned the Earl of Avoirdupois, bear 747, the 2020 Fat Bear Week Champion. No longer the runner-up, 747 fulfills the fate of the fat and fabulous as he heads off to hibernation.”
The competition’s website says that the champion, 747, weighs at least 1,400 pounds. Without a doubt, 747 is the most dominant bear at Brooks Falls.
In 747’s bio, it says, “He’s found most often in the jacuzzi or the far pool. Only rival males of comparable size, of which there are very few, can challenge him for fishing spots.”
Although these bears look like they should stick to berries and go for a nice run, the fattest bears are said to be the healthiest due to their heightened chance of survival during hibernation.
[H/T USA Today]
