Fat Bear Week

Last week marked the annual “Fat Bear Week” in the Katomi National Park. This fun but smart conservation effort is a tradition the park holds to show off their fat bears. Through a “march-madness-like” bracket, you can vote on the fattest bear at the park! 

Every year, bears start a form of hibernation known as “torpor”, where they stock up on fish and get fat. In 2014, the Katomi National Park decided to start a fun campaign, where people could watch bears on live cameras while they stock up. Then audiences vote for them during what they coined “Fat Bear Week”, right before torpor. They created this not only to draw attention to the park but also to encourage conservation efforts. Additionally, the park has created a learning curriculum for teachers to teach their students about bears and the ecosystems around them, all inspired by Fat Bear Week.

We interviewed Professor Ronald of the biology department, and chair of Club Animalia at Hope College to hear her thoughts on it! Ronald makes a great point when she says “I love it; I think it’s a great way to engage the public…”. This annual event has been a hit. “Last year, Fat Bear Week saw its highest voter turnout to date, with over 1.3 million participants from over 100 countries.” Ronald also expresses that she “would especially love to see it used for lesser-known and not as appreciated species that are still incredibly important. My mind goes to something like spider web ratings.” The event of Fat Bear Week is one that is applicable and could be such a great way for all parks to involve the public and work on outdoor education efforts. 

Though this year’s tournament had a great turnout as well, it was delayed due to a bear-on-bear attack. Typically, we just get to watch them stock up on salmon, but sadly a bear killed another causing a delay to the voting until October 2. Many people were upset, but the park reminded viewers “Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.” As Professor Ronald says, “The fact is that these apex predators are always in competition with one another: there is simply not enough food to go around…This is one of the tensions of ‘Fat Bear Week’: while it engages folks to care about the natural world, it comes with the reality that these animals are truly competing to stay alive with no regard to our tournaments.” 

In the end, this past Fat Bear Week was a hoot, having Bear 128 “Grazer” take the crown for a second year in the row. She is a mother, and she beat the competitor that killed her cub, receiving over 40,000 more votes than Chuck, her consistent rival (Archie).

If you want to check out the live cameras, or for more information you can go to https://explore.org/fat-bear-week or https://katmaiconservancy.org/fatbearweek

(Featured image source: Katmai National Park and Preserve)