(WTAJ) — The brown bears truly ate this year, and we mean they ate a lot of salmon at Katmai National Park and Preserve. But only one can be the 2024 Fat Bear Champion.
From Oct. 2 to Oct. 8 dedicated fans voted for their favorite bear at Brooks Falls in Alaska, and it came down to two massive bears. Who was competing for the crown?
The finalists for this year’s competition were Bear 32 also known as Chunk and Bear 128 also known as Grazer. Both previous competitors and well-established bears at the falls.
Chunk is a large adult male who was first identified in 2007. This year dedicated viewers caught 42 salmon for him in roughly 10 hours, meaning he had the dedication for this year’s Fat Bear Week. Grazer was introduced to the falls as a cub in 2005, and now she’s a hardworking momma bear currently raising her third litter.
The winner, with over 71,000 votes, was Grazer! She’s now a two-time, back-to-back champion. Runner-up, Chunk, received over 30,000 votes, but it wasn’t enough to dethrone the reigning queen.
It was a match-up we’ve seen before. For 2023, it came down to the same two chubby bears with Grazer beating out Chunk for last year’s crown. For this year’s matchup, Grazer beat out bear 903, Gully, for her place in the finals with over 67,000 votes. Chunk bear out bear 151, Walker, and received over 52,000 votes.
But don’t forget this competition is about more than just big bears. It’s all about raising awareness and funds for the Katmai Conservancy. Those funds support education, interpretation, conservation, research, youth engagement and outreach.
If you’d like to donate to the Otis Fund, named after Fat Bear Champion and beloved bear, you can do so on the Katmai Conservancy website.
