Fat Bear Week ends October 10. But don’t worry. It’s is really more a state of mind. Fat Bear Week is a celebration of life, survival and unrestrained gluttony. Every year, The National Park Service invites viewers to vote on their favorite brown bear from the Katmai National Park in Alaska, guessing which one will eat the most salmon and get the fattest. Last year, more than one million votes were cast in the tournament-style bracket with the winner, “747 Bear”, a giant among bears, tipping the scales at around 1,400 pounds. This, of course, was only an educated guess. Are you kidding? Nobody in their right mind would have interrupted 747’s feeding frenzy to check his weight.
It’s fascinating to watch the livestream of these bears, milling around Brooks River, gulping down salmon that leap over the falls. It may look like party time but it is serious business for the bears. They have a few short months to eat a year’s worth of food if they hope to survive the long winter’s hibernation, during which they can lose up to one third of their body weight. The rate of consumption is astonishing. One of this year’s contenders for Fattest Bear is Otis a 4-6-year-old, medium-size bear with a floppy ear. Otis holds the current record with eating 42 salmon in five and a half hours!
Other contenders include Chunk, a large male with a distinguishing scar across his mouth. Then there’s 128 Grazer, a reliably chubby female and Holly, a blonde female typically already very fat by early Autumn. And let’s not forget Bucky Dent, the wily male who stakes out his very own fishing hole and guards it ferociously.
Voting is not confined to who’s the fattest bear. Special consideration is given to the most improved bear, the scrawniest one that rallied to become fat by fall. Charm and good looks are also factors in the voting. For example, everybody loves Chunk, with his narrow-set eyes and his fearsome bulk.
The Brooks River falls with those colossal and ravenous creatures waiting for salmon to fly into their mouths is just another Golden Corral all-you-can-eat buffet. As we cheer on the gluttonous bears, could it be we secretly identify with them? Last week, The Washington Post ran a story on salmon recipes. The author, Becky Krystal writes, “So what better way to mark Fat Bear Week than to turn on a webcam while partaking in a satisfying salmon dinner?” (Then, do we get a really long nap afterwards?) Is it just me or does Fat Bear Week come a little too close to Thanksgiving?
Living in Iowa: It’s Fat Bear Week: be the bear!
October 12, 2023