Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament taking place every October, it pits bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska against each other in a week-long bracket style competition, evaluating a bear’s “success in preparation for winter hibernation”.

The competition is intended to raise awareness and help generate interest in conservation. Participants vote to decide who they deem is the “fattest” bear. The event is organized by the National Park Service and Explore.org, and anyone can participate by voting online for their preferred bear. In order to qualify for Fat Bear Week, brown bears of the Katmai National Park must have been spotted catching sockeye salmon at the Brooks River. The subjective contest is a single-elimination tournament. Each day, two bears are presented in a match-up, identified by numbers. The bear with the most votes advances to the next round. In order to evaluate which bears have gained the most weight in preparation for hibernation, the public is able to view before and after photos of specific bears, watch them on livestream feeds, and read their biographies. The biographies include information on their feeding habits, personality traits, and physical features. The winner of the final match-up is named the tournament champion.

Links:
Fat Bear Week