Fat Bear Week took place this year from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11. Every year, 12 bears go head-to-head in a bracket system matchup to see who will be crowned Katmai National Park’s fattest bear. This year, hundreds of thousands of voters from all over the nation tuned in daily to vote for their favorite bear. Between voter fraud scandals and the early elimination of fan favorites, this year’s matchup was one for the history books.
Katmai National Park is the fourth largest national park system encompassing 4 million acres of land located in the surrounding area of King Salmon, Alaska. Although it is so remote it cannot be reached by car, Katmai welcomes thousands of visitors each year, all looking to experience the unique wonder of watching the brown bears that gather on the Brooks River during salmon season. According to Katmai National Park, there can be anywhere from 20 – 80 bears on the river every day, feeding on the rich sockeye salmon the region is known for. The bears spend their summer months feeding to put on weight for the coming winter hibernation. The bears of Katmai are especially interesting to watch as the park rangers and local biologists have been tracking and researching them for years.
Even more excitingly, there are online bear cams that show a 24-hour live video feed of one location along the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, where viewers can tune in anytime to see what the bears are up to. Explore.org hosts live cameras of many popular locations for animal sightings worldwide, including the Brooks River. This creates a strong sense of community among those watching, as there is a comment section for viewers to talk about the bears with the other viewers. As much traffic as this site gets, it’s easy to see how the community has developed a personal attachment to the bears. Being able to watch the bears as they go about their lives, coupled with their known history, allows viewers to build a connection to the bears – and it helps them get to know the bears on a more personal level.
This deeper connection is the primary draw of Fat Bear Week. The ability to vote on who should be crowned king/queen of the river for the upcoming year is something that Katmai’s bear lovers are always looking forward to, and this year it got big. Really big. Major news publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, and more, were all reporting on this year’s bear bracket. On Tuesday, Oct. 11 bear 747 (aptly named “Bear Force One”) won the crown of Fat Bear Week 2022. According to Explore.org, bear 747 is “one of the largest brown bears on Earth, perhaps weighing as much as 1,400 pounds”. As he is a massive bear, it is easy to see why voters chose him to reign supreme for another year.
But why does Fat Bear Week even matter? Fat Bear Week brings awareness to Katmai National Park and Preserve, as well as the Katmai Conservancy. This awareness helps the park and the conservancy to continue their research and their conservation of the brown bears, as well as the other animals and plants in Katmai. The event also brings in funds, which go to supporting research and education and helping with community engagement and programs.
If you didn’t get to vote this year, don’t worry. Fat Bear Week will be returning next October with a whole new bracket of fat Katmai brown bears!