Fat Bear Week voting in Alaska begins after a candidate is killed in an attack

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The farewells can begin.

Voting begins on Wednesday in the annual calendar Fat bear week Competition in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, where spectators choose their favorite among a dozen brown bears that have been fattened up to survive the winter.

The competition, now in its 10th year, honors the resilience of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the Alaska Peninsula sanctuary, which stretches from the southwestern corner of the state to the Aleutian Islands. The animals feed on the abundant sockeye salmon that return to the Brooks River, sometimes devouring the fish in mid-air as they attempt to overcome a small waterfall and get upstream to spawn.

The death of a bear delays the competition

Organizers introduced this year’s participants on Tuesday – a day late – because an expected participant, a woman named Bear 402, was killed in a fight by a male bear on Monday. Cameras set up in the park throughout the summer to livestream footage of the bears captured the killing, as well as a male bear killing a cub that had slipped over the waterfall in late July.

“National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also harsh realities,” park spokesman Matt Johnson said in a statement. “Every bear seen on the webcams is competing with others for survival.”

The nonprofit explore.org, which broadcasts the uncensored bear cams and helps organize Fat Bear Week, hosted a live conversation about the death on Monday. Katmai National Park ranger Sarah Bruce said it was unknown why the bears began fighting.

“We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and plenty of body fat, but the ferocity of bears is real,” said Mike Fitz, resident naturalist at explore.org. “The risks they face are real. Their lives can be hard and their deaths can be painful.”

Packing on the pounds to survive

This year there are twelve Bears, eight of whom will play in the first round and four of whom will receive a bye in the second round. You’ve been packing on the pounds all summer long.

Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600 to 900 pounds (about 270 to 410 kilograms) in mid-summer. When they are ready for hibernation after feasting on migrating and spawning salmon – each eats up to 30 fish per day – large males can weigh well over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms). Females are about a third smaller.

When fans vote each round, they shouldn’t just consider the bear with the biggest belly. Bear fans are asked to vote on the bear they believe “represents the best example of obesity and success in brown bears.”

A love of seagulls and a bear named after a jumbo jet

Bear 909 Jr., who won last week Fat Bear Junior Competition For the second time he meets Bear 519, a young woman, in the first round. The winner meets the defending champion, Grazerdescribed as one of the most impressive bears on the river.

In another first-round match, Bear 903, an 8-year-old male who was nicknamed Gully after developing a fondness for seagulls, faces Bear 909, the mother of Bear 909 Jr. The winner will face a two-time champion Bear, who was so large that he was given the number of the equally massive Bear 747 aircraft.

One of the largest bears ate 42 salmon

In the other half of the tournament, the first round features Bear 856, an older male and one of the most recognizable bears on the river due to his large body, challenging a newcomer, Bear 504, a mother bear raising her second known litter. The winner will face perhaps the river’s largest bear, 32 Chunk, a 20-year-old man who once devoured 42 salmon in 10 hours. He is estimated to weigh more than 1,200 pounds.

The final game of the first round pits Bear 151, a once-playful young bear nicknamed Walker who now shows more dominance, against Bear 901, a solo female who has returned to the river after her first throw did not survive. The winner faces bear 164, nicknamed Bucky Dent because of an indentation in his forehead.

Voting in this year’s tournament round is possible until October 8th.

Last year more than 1.3 million votes were cast.