Meet Bear 747: Champion of Fat Bear Week

Perhaps the bears at Katmai National Park in Alaska have somehow sensed that 2020 is a stressful year to be hibernating through, or so their legendary weight gain over the past 7 days of Fat Bear Week seems to suggest. This year’s iteration of the completely real holiday that we brought to you last week drew widespread public enthusiasm and tens of thousands of votes for various corpulent contenders, but only one bear could win and, here at the end, nameless bear 747 has been crowned the victor.

747’s opponent in the final round, legendary fuzzball Chunk, won by a landslide during several previous fat bear weeks and was widely expected to do so again. Nevertheless, looking at those before and after images it becomes clear why 747 has been crowned “the Earl of Avoirdupois”.

We will not stoop so low as to make fun of a chubby bear, but suffice it to say that 747 might have a hard time finding a cave to hibernate in. We can only hope that his fuzzy bulk will keep him warm and happy during his long winter nap, even if he is unable to fit in his favorite nest.

To check in with the bears one last time before they curl up for the long winter months visit Katmai National Park’s live webcam.