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Fat Bear Week: Social Media Hails Otis, 2021’s Champion and 4-Time Winner

Proving he remains the sentimental favorite, Bear 480 Otis beat out handsome, young Bear 151 Walker to take home his 4th Fat Bear Week crown.

“The people have spoken!” decrees Katmai National Park amidst the excitement. And what a Fat Bear Tuesday it was. I’ll admit, as much as I love Otis, yesterday’s final vote was a difficult one. 151 Walker is one gorgeously gargantuan brown bear. But in the end, sentimentality always wins, doesn’t it?

And there’s zero shame in that for this Outsider. With a fantastic resurgence, old boy Otis is the King of Chonk once again with his 4th Fat Bear Week victory. This makes him the most decorated brown bear in Katmai by far; a remarkable achievement at any age. But the fact that Otis is one of the oldest brown bears on the planet, however, makes his return to the top that much sweeter.

“The portly patriarch of paunch persevered to pulverize the Baron of Beardonkadonk in the final match of #FatBearWeek 2021,” continues Katmai’s official Twitter. “480 Otis can now boast a bevy of bests w/ this fourth 1st place finish.”

“As we celebrate, like a true champ 480 is still chowing down,” Katmai says with a new portrait of Otis. And as any fan of Fat Bear Week expects, social media is going absolutely wild for the old boy.

Fat Bear Week Reactions: ‘All Hail the King!!!’

Perhaps the best victory tribute comes from Victor Söderberg over on Facebook, who whipped up this spot-on Tokien-inspired Return of the King poster for Otis. Seeing Gandalf the White return the crown to one of the oldest brown bears on the planet is as fulfilling as it gets:

And right on that Outsider money comes Andy on Twitter with the best possible Fat Bear Week/Super Bowl mashup possible:

“All hail the king!!!” indeed! As Matthew V. confirms: “480 Otis is the Tom Brady of #FatBearWeek.”

https://twitter.com/mverleg1/status/1445783449072066563

Another of the best graphics to come of Otis is IFLScience’s brilliant flower-crown wearing, salmon-chomping tribute to the King of Chonk. It’s “the beauty contest we need right now,” as Zakariah J. totes. Too true, sir. Too true:

And no Fat Bear Week article on Otis would be complete without some actual footage. Seeing this tremendous titan in action is something of a marvel. He’s truly a barge-sized champ. We love him for it.

“Otis, my man!!!” retweets Bobby G. of Explore.org’s 2021 footage of this year’s winner. Explore.org runs the glorious Live Bearcams that have made Katmai National Park’s fat bears of Fat Bear Week famous. They also run the week’s festivities with the park, and do a tremendous job of it. Observe:

Many congratulations again to our favorite big-ol’ boy, Bear 480 Otis! May his reign last as long as his remarkable lifespan.