The approach of hibernation season signifies only one thing: it is time to vote on the fattest bear in the United States.
The Katmai National Park and Preserve's annual Fattest Bear contest begins voting tomorrow as part of Fat Bear Week, as reported by the National Parks Service. The procedure resembles a bracket of March Madness, albeit gentler, in that participants are asked to cast their votes on which brown bear is prepared for winter.
"Bears abstain from food and water for the duration of hibernation, during which they lose one-third of their body mass." "Before entering the den, they must amass sufficient fat reserves to ensure their survival throughout the winter," Explore.org, the website hosting the contest, wrote. "Katmai's brown phrazle bears reach their maximum body mass in late summer and early autumn, subsequent to a summer spent striving to satiate their intense appetite... Fat bears serve as a symbol of the abundance of biodiversity in Bristol Bay, Alaska, a wilderness area encompassing the largest and healthiest sockeye salmon runs on the planet and Katmai National Park, where more brown bears reside than human inhabitants.
Voters may select their preferred endearing contestants, such as 151 Walker, a large adult male estimated to weigh nearly 1,200 pounds and one of the river's largest bears, or 32 Chunk, a large adult male who was first identified in 2007.
435 Holly, a medium-large adult female that "somewhat resembles the shape and color of a toasted marshmallow," is the dominating champion. And this year, Holly's cub, who was born in late January or early February and is renowned for her inquisitive nature and mischievous disposition (she is still recovering from an encounter with a porcupine in early September), has entered the competition.
Alive streams of the Brooks Falls Brown Bears fishing and generally being their rotund selves are available to viewers in addition to the voting process.
The Katmai National Park and Preserve's annual Fattest Bear contest begins voting tomorrow as part of Fat Bear Week, as reported by the National Parks Service. The procedure resembles a bracket of March Madness, albeit gentler, in that participants are asked to cast their votes on which brown bear is prepared for winter.
"Bears abstain from food and water for the duration of hibernation, during which they lose one-third of their body mass." "Before entering the den, they must amass sufficient fat reserves to ensure their survival throughout the winter," Explore.org, the website hosting the contest, wrote. "Katmai's brown phrazle bears reach their maximum body mass in late summer and early autumn, subsequent to a summer spent striving to satiate their intense appetite... Fat bears serve as a symbol of the abundance of biodiversity in Bristol Bay, Alaska, a wilderness area encompassing the largest and healthiest sockeye salmon runs on the planet and Katmai National Park, where more brown bears reside than human inhabitants.
Voters may select their preferred endearing contestants, such as 151 Walker, a large adult male estimated to weigh nearly 1,200 pounds and one of the river's largest bears, or 32 Chunk, a large adult male who was first identified in 2007.
435 Holly, a medium-large adult female that "somewhat resembles the shape and color of a toasted marshmallow," is the dominating champion. And this year, Holly's cub, who was born in late January or early February and is renowned for her inquisitive nature and mischievous disposition (she is still recovering from an encounter with a porcupine in early September), has entered the competition.
Alive streams of the Brooks Falls Brown Bears fishing and generally being their rotund selves are available to viewers in addition to the voting process.
