Alaska has chosen the fattest bear: a real drama unfolded between the leaders

The Fat Bear Contest has finished in Alaska. For the second time, Grazer the bear won, beating the giant male who killed her cub this summer in a plot almost straight out of Hollywood. Grazer beat Chunk by more than 40 votes cast by fans watching the bears live, writes Associated Press.

Photo: Alexchered | Dreamstime.com

Fans vote for their favorite mighty participant in a tournament bracket that includes 12 bears. Those who want to participate in the voting watch the bears online at explore.org Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

They chose a bear they thought best illustrated winter readiness. Bears gain fat over the summer by eating fish caught in the Brooks River.

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The animals often sit near river rapids, catching salmon jumping out of the air. The fish are trying to overcome the rapids to swim upstream and lay their eggs.

Here, baby Grazer died after slipping off a rock. He was killed by Chunk, the most fearsome dominant male on the river. Grazer fought Chunk to save the baby, but the baby later died. The death was captured on live cameras.

Another death was broadcast live last week, delaying the release of the tournament bracket by a day. Bear 402, a female bear scheduled to compete in this year's competition, was killed by a male brown bear on the day the new tournament rankings were expected to be released.

Grazer has noticeably light ears and a long, straight muzzle, according to her description on explore.org: "She is a fearsome animal of the Brooks River. Her fearlessness and strength have earned the respect of most bears, who avoid laying a paw on her."

Another surviving cub from Grazer's third litter took second place in the Junior Fat Bear competition two weeks ago.

Chunk is perhaps the largest bear on the river, with close-set eyes, a dark brown coat, and a distinctive scar on his face. He used his impressive size to rise to the top of the river’s pecking order this year and secure prime fishing spots. Chunk’s confidence and aggression paid off, allowing him to feast on 42 salmon in 10 hours.

Adult male brown bears typically weigh between 270 and 410 pounds (30 and 454 kilograms) in midsummer. By the time they are ready to hibernate, having gorged themselves on salmon and put on fat—each one eats up to XNUMX fish a day—large males can weigh more than XNUMX pounds (XNUMX kilograms). Females are about a third smaller than males.

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The annual contest, which attracted more than 1,3 million entries last year, is a way to honor the resilience of the 2200 brown bears that live in the Alaska Peninsula sanctuary, which stretches from the southwestern state to the Aleutian Islands.

In addition to the live cameras, Katmai also hosts tourists. Viewing platforms have been built on the river so people can watch brown bears catch salmon.

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