Oct 9, 2024 - Business
Fat Bear Week 2024: Grazer crushes Chunk in battle for the burliest
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She's not your average bear.
Why it matters: Grazer, the reigning champ of Fat Bear Week, repeated as the chubbiest again this year by besting her nemesis, Chunk, a dominant male bear who previously killed one of her cubs.
- She beat Chunk by more than 40,000 votes from her online fans.
State of play: Fat Bear Week, a bracket-style showdown between the bears of Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, concluded Tuesday.
- The competition celebrates the resilience of the estimated 2,200 bears that live in the park, where they gorge on Brooks River sockeye salmon throughout the summer months to fatten up for hibernation.
- But in a stark reminder of the unpredictable and harsh reality of nature, one anticipated competitor was killed by a male bear in a fight, delaying the start of voting.
Flashback: Earlier this summer, Grazer was forced to face Chunk in a much more serious showdown.
- Her two cubs were swept over the falls in the river in July and pulled toward Chunk, who is considered the most dominant bear in the fishing spot.
- Grazer rushed to defend her cubs — but not before Chunk could injure one of them, who later died.
The bottom line: Virtual vengeance is sweet.
- Chunk stood no chance against Grazer in this viral competition.
Go deeper: Fat bear champions aren't born, they're made (all summer long)
