Current:Home > StocksCharles H. Sloan-How a newly single mama bear was able to eat enough to win Fat Bear Week -VisionFunds
Charles H. Sloan-How a newly single mama bear was able to eat enough to win Fat Bear Week
TradeEdge Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 13:22:44
Make sure to hide your salmon and Charles H. Sloanberries from the newly named winner of the ninth-annual Fat Bear Week competition.
A "fierce queen" named "128 Grazer" has been crowned the fattest bear of all of Katmai National Park in Alaska.
MORE: 'Fat is fit': Alaska's Katmai National Park gears up for annual Fat Bear Week
Grazer, a mama bear to two litters of cubs, has been a fixture of the park since 2005, when she was first identified as a cub herself, according to Explore.org, which facilitates the competition.
This was Grazer's first time winning the contest, a feat made easier by the fact that she entered as a single female with no cubs to care for, Felicia Jimenez, a media ranger at Katmai National Park, told ABC News.
Since last year, Grazer has since released her cubs and was able to focus on self-care, Jimenez said.
When females are caring for cubs, they are often nursing them, helping them forage for salmon and providing them protection -- all of which detracts from their ability to eat as much as possible, Jimenez said.
"She was able to focus on herself," Jimenez said of Grazer. "She had an advantage over other female bears this year."
MORE: Could a government shutdown affect Fat Bear Week?
Cubs typically leave their mothers at about 2 and a half years old, but Grazer kept her cubs for a third summer, Jimenez said. That extra year of lessons and nourishment from mom will have benefitted the cubs.
In fact, one of the cubs, "Bear 428," was even entered into the competition at just 3 and a half years old, Jimenez said. However, that bear was knocked out in the first round.
On the last day of the contest, Grazer beat out her competition, "32 Chunk," a "large and dominant" male, Jimenez said.
Although Chunk is one of the largest males on the Brooks River, Grazer won by more than 85,000 votes.
Chunk has also participated in the competition many times, but has never made it to the finals, Jimenez said.
"This was a big matchup between two really big bears," she said.
MORE:'747' named winner of Fat Bear Week for 2nd time following ballot-stuffing attempt
While park rangers do not tag or weigh the bears, Grazer is estimated to weigh about 700 pounds, Jimenez said. When female bears emerge from the den, they typically weigh between 400 and 500 pounds.
The bears living along Alaska's Brooks River have spent the summer fattening up on salmon, berries and grasses in preparation for their annual winter hibernation, according to Katmai National Park.
The brown bears are now in prime shape to enter hibernation around November and eventually experience a one-third loss of their body weight through the winter season, according to park officials. They will begin to emerge from their dens around May.
The March Madness-style bracket competition has been pitting the fattest brown bears at Katmai National Park against each other since 2014.
When the contest first began, it consisted of just a single day in which a few of the park's most notoriously gargantuan bears competed with each other.
By the next year, the contest had transformed into a "globally recognized" event that required more days and more contenders.
This year, a record number of ballots -- more than 1.4 million -- were cast in the competition.
The popularity of Fat Bear Week allows park officials to direct attention to conservation efforts in the region, especially for the sockeye salmon run on the Brooks River, which the bears rely on for sustenance.
The health of the brown bears signifies the overall health of the local ecosystem and Bristol Bay watershed, according to the park.
"Without the ecosystem protected, there would be no Fat Bear Week," Jimenez said.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- The Winner of The Voice Season 24 is…
- China showed greater willingness to influence U.S. midterm elections in 2022, intel assessment says
- IRS to waive $1 billion in penalties for millions of taxpayers. Here's who qualifies.
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Ethiopia and Egypt say no agreement in latest talks over a contentious dam on the Nile
- Derek Hough Asks for Prayers as Wife Hayley Erbert Undergoes Surgery to Replace Portion of Her Skull
- From AI and inflation to Elon Musk and Taylor Swift, the business stories that dominated 2023
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Southwest Airlines, pilots union reach tentative labor deal
Ranking
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- The truth about lipedema in a society where your weight is tied to your self-esteem
- Airbnb admits misleading Australian customers by charging in US dollars instead of local currency
- The French parliament approves a divisive immigration bill, prompting a heated debate
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signs controversial legislation to create slavery reparations commission
- Woman who said her murdered family didn't deserve this in 2015 is now arrested in their killings
- Dick Van Dyke: Forever young
Recommendation
Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
Drilling under Pennsylvania’s ‘Gasland’ town has been banned since 2010. It’s coming back.
Jeremy Allen White Shares Sizzling Update on The Bear Season 3
New tower at surfing venue in Tahiti blowing up again as problem issue for Paris Olympic organizers
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
A new test could save arthritis patients time, money and pain. But will it be used?
IRS to waive $1 billion in penalties for millions of taxpayers. Here's who qualifies.
Southwest will pay a $140 million fine for its meltdown during the 2022 holidays