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"Starting on Wednesday, the bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve in <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/category/alaska\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Alaska</u></a> will battle to see who is the burliest of them all, with fat <a href=\"https://www.livenowfox.com/tag/science/wild-nature\" target=\"_blank\">bear</a> fans from around the world choosing the winner online.Called <a href=\"https://explore.org/fat-bear-week\" target=\"_blank\"><u>Fat Bear Week</u></a>, this portliest time of the year is an annual celebration of the brown bears of Brooks River in Katmai and, specifically, how the burly bears are able to utilize their healthy and abundant ecosystem to pack on the pounds before <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/category/fall\" target=\"_blank\"><u>fall</u></a> and <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/category/winter\" target=\"_blank\"><u>winter</u></a> hibernation.&quot;The Brooks River is part of the Bristol Bay watershed, one of the&#x202F;last great salmon runs left on Earth,&quot; the <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/category/national-parks\" target=\"_blank\"><u>National Park Service</u></a> said. &quot;Without the pristine Brooks River ecosystem to support an abundant <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/salmon-el-nino-la-nina\" target=\"_blank\"><u>salmon</u></a> run, there would be no Fat Bear champions.&quot;People can participate in Fat Bear Week by casting their votes for their favorite gargantuan grizzlies <a href=\"https://explore.org/fat-bear-week\" target=\"_blank\"><u>online</u></a> starting on Oct. 4. Votes will be tallied throughout the week to create a single-elimination, tournament-style bracket competition. On Oct. 10, the NPS will crown the Fat Bear Champion of 2023.<a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/fat-bear-week-2022-chunky-champion-winner\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><u>HERE&apos;S THE FAT BEAR WEEK 2022 CHUNK CHAMPION</u></strong></a>Last year&#x2019;s champion was Bear 747. According to <a href=\"https://explore.org/fat-bear-week\" target=\"_blank\"><u>explore.org</u></a>, an organization that partners with the Katmai National Park and Preserve and the Katmai Conservancy to host Fat Bear Week, Bear 747 was first identified as a young bear in 2004 that struggled to compete with larger bears for prime fishing territory. Ever since, he has grown to become one of the largest brown bears on Earth, weighing in at approximately 1,400 pounds.Packing on so many pounds helps grizzly bears such as 747 survive the cold, harsh <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/category/winter\" target=\"_blank\"><u>winters</u></a> of Alaska. According to the NPS, the bears hibernate from 5-8 months, a time when they stay in dens to avoid the cold weather. This is also when food sources are scarce, placing more importance on how much fat reserves the bears are able to build up during the <a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/category/summer\" target=\"_blank\"><u>summer</u></a>, when they can gain about 3-6 pounds of fat every day.<a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/how-to-watch-fox-weather-on-tv\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><u>HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER</u></strong></a>The week-long competition for the chonkiest champion began in 2014, when it was simply a one-day affair called Fat Bear Tuesday. Since then, the competition has grown in popularity and expanded into the Fat Bear Week known and loved today. In fact, for Fat Bear Week 20222, more than one million votes were cast from all over the globe, according to the NPS.&#xA0;To vote for your favorite fat bear, <a href=\"https://explore.org/fat-bear-week\" target=\"_blank\"><u>cast your vote here</u></a>.<a href=\"https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/fat-bear-week-2023\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Read more on FOX Weather.&#xA0;</i></a>"
<https://www.fox7austin.com/news/fat-bear-week-begins-as-world-celebrates-champion-of-chonk-in-alaska>