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Every October when the weather is mild, thousands of people across the country are gearing up to attend a high stakes tournament fought between fierce competitors, one of whom is finally crowned champion.
But we are talking about bears, not baseball.
After all, it's Fat Bear Week.
In Katmai National Park, in southern Alaska, brown bears devour a portion of non-stop food, in which they earn hundreds of pounds to prepare for hibernation. They frolic and dive in Brooks Falls, feasting on migrating sockeye salmon and gaining up to four pounds a day.
The National Parks Service has taken advantage of the increasingly ruthless population by broadcasting live hungry bears and creating online support in which 12 of the most passionate in the park are opposed. Fans vote for their favorite bear in direct clashes until the Fattest Bear title award, this year on Tuesday.
The tournament became a media sensation on social media and allowed a diversion in the middle of a stressful news cycle. The live stream draws hundreds of viewers at a time, and thousands of people vote and comment on Twitter and Facebook, arguing aloud about seating positions and camera angles. "We are all 409 bears" a Twitter user written in response to the weight of this bear.
The one-week tournament was launched in 2015 by the National Parks Service to inspire interest and educate non-Alaskans about Katmai's wildlife. (The park was established in 1918 and extends over 4 million acres, but its access to the public is very limited – its campground is unique. allows only 60 visitors per night.)
There are more than 2,000 brown bears in Katmai and, in October and November, they enter their dens where they can hibernate for up to six months and lose one third of their body weight. To prepare their bodies, they must enter a state called hyperphagia, in which they eat almost continuously until they become virtually unrecognizable from the rangers who know them.
At the beginning of summer, menu options are limited: omnivorous bears can persist in sedges and berries. But by the end of June, millions of sockeye salmon are coming upstream to spawn. The bears congregate en masse around Brooks Falls and catch them easily. The prime real estate is right under the falls. "The bears will feel good with their feet to catch them," said Sara Wolman, a park warden from Katmai, during a phone interview.
A single bear can weigh up to four kilos a day, eating more than two dozen sockeye salmon – each containing about 4,000 calories. The largest adult males can come in the winter for a weight greater than 1,200 pounds.
The webcams – which provide vivid images and are controlled by volunteers – have turned charismatic bears into social media celebrities. An eternal favorite is Otis, a 22-year-old giant who has won the competition two of the past three years. But Friday, he was easily defeated in the second round by a big challenger – Bear 409. Nicknamed Beadnose, she won the match by more than 3,000 votes and will face Bear 854, nicknamed Divot, in the semi-finals.
"I'm rooted for her," said Ms. Wolman, praising her technique. "It has its place on the edge of the falls. She somehow raises her paw and catches them right there. "
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