Every year, cameras at Katmai National Park film the brown bears’ tenacity throughout the spring, summer, and fall months, resulting in Fat Bear Week (virtually).
Cameras capture images of the bears’ condition once they awake from hibernation at the start of the year, which normally results in the bears looking extremely emaciated. By the time October approaches, these same brown bears gain so much weight that they are unrecognisable from their spring photographs.
What is Fat Bear Week?
Fat Bear Week is a time to rejoice in one’s accomplishments and survival. It’s a way to honour Katmai’s brown bears’ adaptation, resilience, and strength. In a “march madness”-style battle, bears are pitted against one another. Also, online visitors can vote on who will be proclaimed Fat Bear Week 2021 Champion. Through a series of live events hosted on explore.org throughout the week, virtual visitors learn more about the lives. Moreover, the histories of individual bears while also acquiring a better grasp of Katmai’s ecology.
During the summer, the bears’ annual hibernation cycle requires them to gain weight, which they do by eating salmon in the park’s Brooks River. Months of privation, as well as the desire to prepare for another winter, have fueled their hunger.
480 Otis won his fourth Fat Bear title by defeating 151 Walker. He was the younger bear with great size but with none of 480 Otis’ miraculous return storey. The older bear, estimated to be around 25, came out of hibernation late this year. However, he was looking frail and was suffering from health issues.
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480 Otis’ fans say they appreciate the champ’s more peaceful nature. Moreover, emphasising on the compassion he shows with other bears in addition to his exceptional ability to fill out his frame. Then there’s his fishing ability, as well as his refusal to waste energy pursuing salmon.
The bear isn’t content to rest on his imposing stature. The “portly patriarch of paunch” is “still hard at work chowing down,” according to Katmai National Park.
