Fat Bear Week is back, and this year’s contestants are a giant, fuzzy dream for the competition’s 10th anniversary.
The initial Monday announcement was postponed until Tuesday following a gruesome attack captured on web cameras when one bear attacked and killed another one. However, the bracket was announced Tuesday celebrating the battle of the behemoths.
From chunky cuties to thick teddys, brown bears from Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska will complete during the beloved week that brings joy (or potentially terror) to humans across the world.
“Fat Bear Week satisfies your hunger for bears, salmon, and the other wonders of Katmai,” said Katmai National Park Superintendent Mark Sturm “all with one bite.”
After a summer-long effort, the hibernating bears reached peak fat and the single-elimination tournaments begins Wednesday. For each match-up, contestants vote for the bear they believe “best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears,” officials wrote on the contest website.
The bear with the most votes advances to the next round, with only one crowned Fat Bear Week champion. But which beauty will the internet crown as the 2024 fat bear king or queen?
Here’s what to know about America’s favorite beauty contest and who this year’s contestants are:
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When is Fat Bear Week?
Fat Bear Week 2024 runs Oct. 2 through Oct. 8.
This year marks a decade since Fat Bear Week began. The annual contest started in 2014.
Why was the Fat Bear Week bracket reveal delayed?
Competition officials announced Monday that the Fat Bear Week bracket reveal would be postponed after a gruesome incident between two bears at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
“This morning an adult male bear attacked and killed another bear at Brooks River,” Resident Naturalist Mike Fitz said during a live public program initially meant to announce the contestants for the competition. “The incident was witnessed live on the webcams.”
Bear number 469, an adult male bear estimated to be 30 years old, attack bear number 402, who is an older adult female while the two were in the water.
“We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and ample body fat in Fat Bear Week, but the ferocity of bears is real. The risks they face are real. Their lives can be hard, and their deaths can be painful,” he added.
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Where is Fat Bear Week held?
The contest is held at Katmai National Park in the northern Alaska Peninsula in Bristol Bay Borough.
It’s headquarters is on the edge of the park in King Salmon, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Who are the 2024 Fat Bear Week contestants?
Below are the 2024 Fat Bear Week contestants:
909 Jr.
“She faces challenges in this competition that the older bears don’t, so I think she should be recognized for that and for her double win,” Naomi Boak from the Katmai Conservancy said.
519
“She’s a great representative of the subadults this year and how quickly they can grow from these lanky little cubs into these kind of awkward looking teenage bears,” Sarah Bruce with the Katmai National Park said.
129 Grazer
2023 Fat Bear Week champion
Highly defensive mother who delivered two first year cubs in 2024
In July, one of Grazer’s cubs died after injured by 32 Chunk. Grazer showed courage when defending her cubs.
“Since then, Grazer and her surviving cub have continued to focus on their efforts to get back before winter, which appears to have paid off because they are both quite chubby,” Fitz said. “Grazer is one of the most formidable successful and adaptable bears, although her story this year, demonstrates that even the most fearless mother bears experience hardship and loss.”
903 Gully
“Bear 903 is the definition of an A student,” Boak said. “He’s also figured out how to adapt to other kinds of circumstances and let’s say take advantage of opportunities that other bears might not or probably never have.”
909
Daughter of 2018 February week champion Beadnose
Commonly seen catching salmon
Known for practicing self care
“A lone female this summer, 909 experienced the greater independence and perhaps what humans would consider a lot of self care. She fished with skill and focus, traits that are reflected in the size of 909’s waistline. Her skills, work ethic, and family legacy could be imparted on a new litter of cubs next year,” Fitz said.
856
Large male, approximately 22 years old
One of the largest bears in the river
Highly ranked within bear hierarchy.
“He’s been knocked down, maybe a few pegs. He’s still one of the fattest bears you will see on the river,” Bruce said.
504
A mother bear raising her second known litter
Identified as a younger adult in 2014
Her cubs have more time to grow large while 504 cares for them an extra year
“One thing that is special about 405 and her current litter is that this family has remained together for four summers,” Fitz said. “Most brown bear mothers separate from their cubs at the beginning of a cub’s third or fourth summer so it’s surprising that this family did not go their separate ways and are not living separate lives right now.”
32 Chunk
Observed devouring 42 salmon in 10 hours
One of the largest and most dominant bears.
Distinctive scar across his muzzle.
“The only bear to challenge him was last year’s Fat Bear Week champion, 128 grazer, who I think might be his greatest challenge in this competition as well,” Bruce said.
151 Walker
A former playful young bear, he’s established dominance this year
Knows how to pack pounds with salmon
“He’s never won, but this year, he’s throwing some punches with the big boys,” Bruce said.
901
Approximately 8 years old
Had her first litter last year but unfortunately did not survive
Fat Bear Week 2022 runner-up
“The knowledge that she gained may provide her with the memory and experience to keep a future litter of cubs safe,” Fitz said.
164 Bucky
Approximately 8 years old
Nicknamed Bucky because of a small indentation in his forehead
Considered for “social mastermind”
“I think of him as maybe the Thomas Edison of the Brooks,” Boak said. “He’s found a successful place to fish where no other bear has gone before, in the falls right under the lip.”
How do I vote for Fat Bear Week?
All votes can be cast at fatbearweek.org.
Voters will selected the bear they wish to move forward, enter their email address and confirm they are not a robot.
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What bear won Fat Bear Week 2023?
Last year’s champ chosen by fans was a female brown bear named 128 Grazer.
Nearly 1.4 million votes were cast for the bears from people in more than one hundred countries, officials said.
It marked the first win for the mama spotted for years on the Brooks River at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. She has even earned a reputation among fellow bears as “a particularly defensive mother bear who has successfully raised two litters of cubs,” according to Fat Bear Week’s website.
“She often preemptively confronts and attacks much larger bears – even large and dominant adult males – in order to ensure her cubs are safe,” the website says.
Fat Bear Week is made possible through partnership between the National Park Service, Explore.org, and the Katmai Conservancy.
For more information watch the live cams on explore.org.
Contributing: Saman Shafiq, Eve Chen, Jordan Mendoza and Camille Fine, USA TODAY
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet the bears of Fat Bear Week 2024 after attack delayed reveal
