Fat Bear Tuesday finalists are in! Chunk vs. Grazer
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Fat Bear Tuesday is officially here! Brown bears at Katmai National Park and Reserve in southern Alaska are now vying to win the people’s choice as the favorite for Fat Bear Week 2023.
Now it is down to two of the fattest finalists. Chunk and Grazer are the top choices in the Fat Bear bracket.
According to Explore.org, October 10th is Fat Bear Tuesday. The website says: “Only two bears remain standing in Fat Bear Week, the fattest tournament on Earth. You choose the winner on Fat Bear Tuesday. Explore the lives of the two final contestants and the importance of fat to brown bears with explore.org’s resident naturalist Mike Fitz and Katmai National Park rangers. Watch on explore.org’s Brooks Live Chat channel and vote for your champion bear.”
The voting begins on Tuesday at 12 p.m. Eastern time. You can cast your bear ballot here.
Since late June, dozens of brown bears have been feasting on salmon from the Brooks River at the park — preparing for the approaching hibernation months, where they typically lose about a third of their body weight, according to the National Parks Service.
“For bears, fat equals survival. Each winter, bears enter the den where they will not eat or drink until they emerge in spring. Survival depends on eating a year’s worth of food in six months,” the National Parks System said on its website.
There is also a system of live Fat Bear Cameras hosted by Explore, set up for anyone to watch in hopes of catching a glimpse of the bears fattening up for the winter. If you’re not lucky enough to spot a bear, explore.org has several highlight videos where you can watch the bears in action while you pick your favorite to be crowned the fattest.
Meet the 2023 Fat Bear Week finalists
Chunk is a large adult male with narrowly-set eyes, a prominent brow ridge, and a distinctive scar across his muzzle.
Grazer is a large adult female with a long straight muzzle and conspicuously blond ears.
