A large female bear, described as boasting a combination of “skill and toughness”, has been crowned the winner of Fat Bear Week, the annual competition to see which Alaskan bears can pack on the most pounds before hibernation season.
The victorious bear, called 128 Grazer, beat competition from 11 other bears in Katmai national park in Alaska to clinch the title in an online vote.
In doing so, 128 Grazer joins a vaunted list of Fat Bear Week winners, some of whom she defeated on the way to victory.
“Congrats to the 2023 Fat Bear Week champion, 128 Grazer!” the National Park Service said in a Facebook post.
“With a dominant performance … Grazer’s resilience and strength is the epitome of Katmai’s brown bears.”
Winning the title was no easy task. Along the way, 128 Grazer faced off against 747, a two-time Fat Bear Week winner, described by Katmai national park as “typically very fat” by the end of week.
128 Grazer made it through three rounds of voting before facing 32 Chunk, a “mountain of a male” with a “prominent posterior”, according to Katmai.
Fat Bear Week works by allowing fans to vote for one of two bears. The victor then moves on to the next round, to face off against a different bear. 128 Grazer proved to be a real favorite among Fat Bear Week voters, who were rapt as she “stuffed so much salmon in her face”, Katmai said.
“Grazer’s combination of skill and toughness makes her one of Brooks River’s most formidable, successful, and adaptable bears, who is well prepared for winter,” the National Park Service said.
128 Grazer was introduced to the Brooks River, in Katmai national park, in 2005. Since then the bear has “become one of the best anglers” in the region, and has raised two litters of cubs.
A “particularly defensive mother”, 128 Grazer has been known to attack larger, male bears to defend her cubs, and some larger bears will actively avoid her, according to Katmai.
