A GIANT grizzly bear weighing up to 800lb has been crowned as the world’s fattest after winning the famous Fat Bear Week contest in Alaska.
The 20-year-old behemoth called Grazer defeated rival Chunk in a bloody brawl to become the undisputed queen – for the second consecutive time.
The Mega AgencyMama Bear Grazer has won the 2024 Fat Bear Week championship[/caption]
APThe grizzly bear defeated rival Chunk in a bloody brawl to become the undisputed queen[/caption]
The Mega AgencyChunk is among the biggest bears in the wildlife park[/caption]
Mama bear Grazer beat male Chunk who killed one of her cubs by more than 40,000 votes.
They were cast by fans watching the online event at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska
The competition puts some of the chunkiest – and most aggressive bears – in a bracket to pit against each other in single-elimination face-offs.
The knock-out rounds see the eight finalists whittled down to just two over a week.
Thousands of people from all around the world watch the live competition and choose their favourite, judging the bears on their fighting skills – and the amount of fat they gained after emerging from spring hibernation.
Grazer fought Chunk – one of the most popular bears in the region – for the second time in two years to become the winner.
But the battle was marked by a tragic event that took place earlier this year.
The staff of the national park say that Grazer had been teaching her two cubs to fish when they accidentally fell into a high-current river stream and swept into the territory of Chunk, who was hunting for food.
Known to be an aggressively protective mum, Grazer rushed to save her two kids, but one of them was mauled to death by Chunk.
The death was captured on the live cameras.
Sarah Bruce, a spokesperson for the park, said: “I think that potentially if Chunk hadn’t taken out one of Grazer’s cubs this year it would have been a much closer fight.
“He moved up to that most dominant spot this year, but it’s a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
“There was a lot of love for Chunk as well. He was just doing what bears do.”
With blond ears and a long, straight muzzle, Grazer is said to have a formidable presence on Brooks River.
Her fearlessness and strength have earned her respect, with most bears avoiding confrontation, the staff say.
Weighing up to 1,200 lb, Chunk is among the biggest bears in the wildlife park – with narrow-set eyes, dark brown fur and a distinctive scar across his muzzle, his bio says.
He used his size to rise to the top of the river hierarchy this year and secured the prime fishing spots.
His confidence and aggression paid off, allowing him to feast on 42 salmon in 10 hours – and his physical success is evident in his bulky form.
Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600 to 900lb in mid-summer.
By the time they are ready to hibernate after feasting on migrating and spawning salmon, each eats as many as 30 fish per day large males can weigh well over 1,000lb.
The annual contest, which drew more than 1.3 million votes last year, is a way to celebrate the resiliency of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula.
Meanwhile, another death in the park was captured live by the cameras just last week, delaying the release of the tournament bracket for a day.
Bear 402, a female bear that was supposed to be a contestant in this year’s contest, was killed by a male brown bear the day the brackets were expected to be released.
The violent brawl, which was caught on a live webcam, involved a female bear named Bear 402 and a male bear named Bear 469 in a river in Alaska‘s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
Footage showed the bears wrestling in the river, with the female being overcome and appearing to drown, before the male carries her body to land.
What is Fat Bear Week?
FAT Bear Week is an annual event held in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, celebrating the resilience and survival skills of brown bears as they prepare for winter hibernation.
Each autumn, from late September to early October, the park showcases a bracket-style competition where the public votes on which bear has bulked up the most over the summer months.
These bears, primarily found at Brooks River, spend the summer months feasting on salmon to build up their fat reserves, which are crucial for their survival during the long hibernation period.
The competition not only highlights their impressive weight gain but also raises awareness of the bears’ ecosystem and the importance of preserving it.
Fans follow the transformations of specific bears, often comparing before and after photos, and vote on their favourite “fattest” bear until a winner is crowned “Fat Bear Champion.”
The event has grown popular worldwide, combining education about wildlife conservation with a fun and engaging way to connect people to nature.
The Mega AgencyA picture of Chunk standing near a stream of water to hunt salmon[/caption]