This year’s Alaskan salmon run has—absolutely, claws-itively—been a boon for brown bears.
Fat Bear Week, an annual competition inaugurated in 2014, was launched to celebrate brown bears that feast upon the bountiful sockeye salmon that make the perilous migration upriver to spawn every year at Katmai National Park.
The top prize, officiated by the park staff, is awarded to the bear who bulks up the most—the title signifies an ecosystem that is currently thriving.
The Fat Bear 2022 champion was announced on October 11 following a “March Madness”-style tournament. With several “bearcams” installed at Brooks Falls and along the river, viewers online opted for their bear of choice. Their selections culminated in a final faceoff between contender bear 901, a humongous sow, and the infamous previous champion, aptly dubbed 747….