The bracket for Fats Bear Week 2025 has been revealed, and 12 bears at Katmai Nationwide Park and Protect in Alaska are in search of votes from all around the world — however just one will probably be topped the champion of the fats bears.
For greater than a decade, the Fats Bear Week contest has been highlighting a number of the largest brown bears on the planet dwelling alongside Brooks River contained in the nationwide park as they put together for hibernation. The annual vote for fattest bear of the 12 months begins Tuesday, Sept. 23, and can proceed by way of Sept. 30. Individuals can vote on-line between 12 and 9 p.m. ET every day.
Bear lovers may watch the fattened animals of their pure habitats in a sequence of livestreams on Discover.org, a multimedia group that companions with the Nationwide Park Service to host the bear competitors.
Lead Interpretive Ranger Keith Moore images a bear strolling on the seaside of Brooks Camp in Bristol Bay, AK on Sept. 22, 2023. As Fats Bear Week approaches, rangers work collectively to {photograph} the bears they should.
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What’s Fats Bear Week?
“It’s a really great way to kind of showcase these bears that we have in southwest Alaska,” Bruce stated. “It’s very difficult to get to, so the cameras and Fat Bear Week make this park more accessible for folks who are unable to visit.”
It was began by Discover.org resident naturalist and former park ranger Mike Fitz, who noticed the dimensions distinction within the park’s bears from late June to July — when they’re most lively alongside the river — in comparison with later in September.
How fats do the bears get?
Scientists have estimated that the bears can pack on as a lot as 700 kilos as they get able to hibernate for the winter, Bruce stated. Which means the bears can find yourself weighing greater than 1,400 kilos.
“They get super fat, and it’s really important to get fat. A fat bear is a healthy bear,” she defined. “So they’re eating about a year’s worth of food within the span of five to six months. When they go into hibernation, they’re not eating anymore, so they survive on their fat stores.”
And what does the winner of Fats Bear Week get?
“Their prize is winning and surviving another winter season, which is the most difficult season for these bears,” Bruce stated.
Fats Bear Week 2025 Bracket
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Meet the 2025 Fats Bear Week contenders
Fats Bear Week contenders had been introduced throughout a livestream on Monday with out difficulty, after final 12 months’s bracket reveal was postponed following a skirmish between two Alaskan grizzlies that led to the dying of one of many animals.
Whereas round 80 bears frequent the Brooks River throughout their lively season, 12 bears are chosen for Fats Bear Week due to sure standards, together with whether or not there are earlier than and after images of the bears, park ranger and photographer Ashleigh Monaco stated Monday.
Fitz stated the competitors is subjective and voters can place their vote for his or her favourite bear.
These are the bears vying to be this 12 months’s champion:
128 Jr.
Fats Bear Jr. winner 128 Jr., or “Biggie,” is the offspring of 128.
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Fats Bear Jr. winner 128 Jr., or “Biggie,” is the offspring of 128. The darkish fur bear is about 1 1/2 years previous. She had a sibling who was unable to outlive final summer season, in response to Monaco.
“While it is tragic that that cub didn’t survive, it just goes to show 128’s strength and resiliency in overcoming the challenges of living on the Brooks River herself,” Monaco stated.
609
609, the daughter of 909 and the champion of Fats Bear Jr. 2022.
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Going towards 128 Jr. within the bracket’s first quadrant is 5-year-old 609, the daughter of 909 and the champion of Fats Bear Jr. 2022. She has noticeably giant spherical ears and a protracted nostril.
602
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Both 128 Jr. or 609 will face off towards 602, a beginner to the competitors.
He loves lounging and taking lengthy naps by the river, Monaco stated, and he dominated the class of measurement and power this summer season. Nicknamed “Flow-tato,” 602 is usually noticed doing “a little stomping dance,” probably a response to excessive adrenaline or pleasure.
503
503, a 12-year-old bear who permits the youthful bears to generally take his leftovers.
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Within the bracket’s second quadrant is 503. The 12-year-old is resourceful, playful and tolerant, permitting the youthful bears to generally take his leftovers.
901
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This 7-year-old bear has “never been fatter,” stated Naomi Boak, a media ranger at Katmai. In 2023, 901 had three cubs, however none of them survived.
“But she’s back, and she’s big,” Boak stated, including that cubs may very well be in her future subsequent season.
32 Chunk
Former Fats Bear Week contender 32 Chunk.
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Both 503 or 901 should face 32 Chunk, the runner-up of final 12 months’s Fats Bear Week. He was among the many most dominant bears final 12 months, however this 12 months he’s therapeutic from a damaged jaw, probably from an altercation with one other male over a feminine, in response to Boak.
“That’s a typical injury, and it’s not an easy injury to live with, but he has powered through his injury,” Boak stated. “He is fishing and he is getting fatter than ever.”
26
26, a mom bear with twins.
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Within the third quadrant is 26, a mom bear with twins “with plenty of energy and spunk,” stated photographer Christine Loberg.
909
909 loves catching fish by the waterfall.
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That is the daughter of the 2018 Fats Bear Week champion, 409 Beadnose. 909 loves catching fish by the waterfall, merely catching them together with her mouth.
128
128 Grazer stands out together with her blond flur.
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The mom of this 12 months’s Fats Bear Jr. champion is roughly 20 years previous. Also called Grazer, she stands out together with her blond fur.
99
Bear 99 is identifiable by his chocolate milk colour coat.
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Bear 99 is identifiable by his chocolate milk-color coat, in response to Bruce. Whereas he’s nonetheless fairly younger, he has acquired sufficient fish this 12 months to land him within the fats bear bracket.
856
Bear 856 is without doubt one of the oldest bears on the Brooks River.
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The following bear within the fourth quadrant is 856, who Bruce referred to as “the old man of the river.” He’s one of many oldest bears on the Brooks River.
910
Bear 910 is described as a rectangle and a cruise ship.
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The final 2025 Fats Bear Week contender is 910. She’s described as a rectangle and a cruise ship due to how giant she is.
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