Each autumn , Katmai National Park in Alaska celebrates ursine corpulency in the best way potential : by holding a week - long competition to determine whichbearis the fattest .
Since parking lot rangers ca n’t exactly ask a crazy browned bear to stand on a scale leaf , it ’s less about how much the bear might librate and more about how much larger they ’ve get since the spring . According toexplore.org , which hosts the on-line event , the bears will drop about one - third of their body weight whilehibernatingover the long winter . In guild to go those calendar month without any nutrient or water , they spend the summer scarf down all the Salmon River ( and other sustenance ) they can get their hand on . By early October , they ’re gloriously weighty — and it ’s up to you to determine which one deserves to be the whiz of this year’sFat Bear Week .
Every twenty-four hours between now and October 6 , Katmai National Park will post one or two new bear - vs.-bear matchups — the first at 12 p.m. EDT and the 2d at 4 p.m. EDT — and ask the world tovotefor the bear they want to see approach to the next round of the single - reasoning by elimination tournament . Each entryway includes a pic of the bear from June or July and another from the last few weeks , so you may easy see how much they ’ve ballooned .
you’re able to learn about the bears on the “ Meet the Bears of Fat Bear Week”page , and you’re able to also attempt to spot them for yourself on explore.org’slivestreams . Once you ’ve select your favourite , you may see which competitor they might face next on thebracket . Last yr ’s winner , Holly , is defending her title , but she might have a conflict of pastime — this year , her cub is competing , too . If Holly win her next round , and her rookie gain her next two round , female parent and girl could battle it out in the semifinal on Monday , October 5 .
