Fat Bear Week — a time to celebrate the chunkiest of mammals as they plump up for hibernation — is set to begin Wednesday, but the ferocious drama has already begun.
The annual contest hosted by Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska features a March Madness-style bracket of bears where people can vote for their favorites to win. Single-elimination rounds will end with a Fat Bear champion at the conclusion of the week.
In addition to voting and advocating for their favorite bear, enthusiasts can also watch livestreams from cameras of the bears bulking up from the abundant salmon supply along the Brooks River.
But Monday morning, before park officials had originally planned to release this year’s competition bracket, those live stream cameras turned from a peaceful nature scene to a front-and-center view of bear-on-bear crime.
A fight between female bear 402 and male bear 469 Patches ended in 402’s death — with 469 Patches then feasting on her remains. The entire incident was caught on camera to the horror of viewers, according to a statement from national park officials.
Organizers of the contest decided to postpone the bracket reveal until Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. It’s not clear if 469 Patches will be disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities,” officials said. “Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.”
It’s also not the first time deadly bear fights have been captured on the livestream cameras.
The offspring of last year’s champion, 128 Grazer, was killed by a dominant adult male known as 32 Chunk over the summer. Grazer tried to save its cub by fighting off Chunk, but the cub later died.
The official voting begins Wednesday and will wrap up with a champion on Oct. 8.
Last year, the contest drew nearly 1.4 million votes, according to park officials.
The fat bear frenzy began as Fat Bear Tuesday in 2014, aimed at celebrating the Alaskan bears' winter weight gain and the thriving ecosystem supporting them. Now, thousands of people from around the globe flock to FatBearWeek.org and cast their votes for the chunkiest bear that has captured their hearts.
Bears need to consume enough calories before hibernation to avoid losing 15-30% of their body weight, according to the National Park Service.
Once the contest ends, park officials typically post “transformation” photos of the contestants showing their visible bulking.
