Fat Bear Week is back, and the internet is already lining up behind its favorite salmon-stuffed heavyweights. Katmai National Park in Alaska is once again hosting the online bracket where brown bears face off for the title of supreme chonk, and the competition is stacked—literally.
The annual contest began nearly a decade ago when park officials installed live cams along the Brooks River, home to one of the richest sockeye salmon runs on Earth. What started as a tool to study individual bears quickly morphed into an international spectacle. More than a million people across 100 countries now cast votes each October, all to honor the bear that best “exemplifies fatness and success,” according to Katmai.
These animals eat with purpose. Brown bears can lose up to a third of their body weight while hibernating through Alaskan winters. A season of salmon binging builds the reserves they need to make it through. By fall, some tip the scales at more than 1,200 pounds, every pound increasing their odds of survival.
This year’s lineup is full of familiar stars and fresh storylines. Grazer, the reigning two-time champion, has the internet rooting for a three-peat. She’s the first mother to ever win the crown, known for fiercely defending her cubs and staking out the best fishing spots. “Grazer is highly defensive,” her official bio explains, and her fans love her for it.
Chunk is another favorite. He weighs in at more than 544 kilograms and has battled through a broken jaw suffered earlier this summer. “His broken jaw is a permanent disability that will never return to normal,” his bio reads. Yet photos show him thriving, cheeks stuffed with salmon, proof that resilience can look like pure mass.
Then there’s 602, affectionately nicknamed “floatato.” He’s made himself a near-permanent fixture on the river this season, often dozing in the water like a furry potato buoy. His popularity is rising fast.
The beauty of Fat Bear Week is that the rules are simple. Watch the live cams, admire the sheer tonnage these animals have packed on since June, then click to crown your champion. By late October, the salmon run winds down, and the bears settle in to hibernate. Until then, the internet has license to celebrate their staggering proportions.
This is democracy in its chunkiest form, and the only election where every candidate is perfect.
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