Voting Opens For Fat Bear Week
- Editor OGN Daily
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
Last year, about 1.2 million votes were cast from more than 100 countries. Why not join in this year?
The bears are back, bigger and fatter than ever, ready to battle for the title of the fattest of them all. Voting for the annual Fat Bear Week competition has just kicked off, pitting bears in Alaska against each other as they eat their way to adequate fatness to prepare for winter hibernation.
Organisers encourage voters to pick the bear you believe "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears". Success gets them a spot on the wall of champions, but more importantly helps them survive the winter. "The bears have grown as fat as I've ever seen them thanks to another exceptional salmon run. Go big or go home!" says Charlie Annenberg, founder of explore.org, which produces the contest in partnership with the National Park Service and the Katmai Conservancy.
Last year's winner, Grazer, took the title for the second time, besting Chunk by thousands of votes. Both are back again in 2025, and are early favourites among the 12 brown bears in this year's contest.
Adult males average up to 408kg (900lb) in mid-summer and often pack on the equivalent of 25 percent of their bodyweight by autumn, says NatGeo. The largest males often tip the scales at more than 540kg.
The contest is the brainchild of former ranger Mike Fitz. What started as a one-day competition with about 1,700 votes in 2014 has since gone global, drawing and educating fans across the world.
As many as 10 million people have tuned in to the Katmai livestreams in recent years to watch the bears vie for fish.