‘Chunk’ Emerges as Champion of Fat Bear Week

In a ferocious competition, 12 chunky brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve have been battling it out in one of the most cutthroat places on the planet – the internet.

As part of the park’s annual Fat Bear Week, the oversized ursines are pitted against each other in online popularity contests, where fans from around the world vote for the bear they like best.

A live camera lets voters follow along with the bears as they forage for salmon in a last-gasp chance to pack on the pounds ahead of their upcoming winter hibernation.

After one week of voting, bears competed against each other until only two challengers remained – numbers 856 and 32.

This year’s winner is bear 32, AKA Chunk.

In addition to his impressive girth, Chunk’s Cinderella story appealed to voters as he suffered from a jaw injury that threatened to derail his salmon-eating activities. He defeated bear 602, affectionately known as “Flotato,” by roughly 70 per cent to 30 per cent in the semis to secure his place in the final.

Meanwhile, bear 856 beat last year’s reigning champion, 128 Grazer, by around 68 per cent -32 per cent in the semis. Grazer was the last female bear left in the competition.

Bear 856 lost out to Chunk 60.2 per cent – 39.8 per cent in the final round of voting, which was held Tuesday. The final total was 96,350 votes for Chunk and 63,725 for 856.

Beyond the fun of selecting a chubby champion, Fat Bear Week is also an opportunity to educate people about brown bears and their habitat in Alaska.

The contest, which began in 2014, spotlights the work rangers do at Katmai, the fourth-largest national park in the US.

To survive Alaska’s punishing winters, brown bears spend the season hibernating in their dens.

The more weight they put on ahead of that, the more likely they are to survive the season. That goes double for pregnant bears, who usually enter their dens earlier than their peers.

As Katmai’s website notes, “fat bears are successful bears,” so it’s safe to say all the park’s brown bears are winners.

Chunk will now have his photo added to the Fat Bear Week Hall of Champions, where previous winners are honoured for their achievements.