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(Katmai National Park, Alaska) — It’s Fat Bear Week. The chunkiest bears of the season in Alaska will be competing in this annual event, now in it’s 11th year. The event takes place at Alaska’s Katmai National Park right before hibernation. Viewers online can watch some 22-hundred brown bears feast on salmon and double in weight as they prepare for winter. Some male bears can top the scale at 15-hundred pounds. Park Ranger Sarah Bruce tells The Today Show bears eat as much as they can because some of their hormones, which tell them they’re full, turn off and they just keep eating and eating. Bruce says “A fat bear is a healthy bear.”
Last year some one-million people in 100 countries cast their votes in the competition. Some of the top contenders include Grazer, the first Mama bear to win. She tipped the scales at around 800-pounds. In addition, her cub won Fat Bear Junior.
You can cast your vote at explore.org
