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Bear 89 Backpack wins Fat Bear Week with 103,344 votes
BBC News··30 Sept
Brown bear 89 Backpack won Katmai National Park's Fat Bear Week, defeating bear 910 by 103,344 votes to 98,253 in the final. The US National Park Service called it a contest of size, skill, snack acquisition, and strategic loafing. The competition is in its thirteenth year. Backpack's mother Holly won in 2019. Adult males average up to 408kg in mid-summer.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Organisers said hibernation can last up to six months and depends on autumn fat reserves.
- During hibernation bears neither eat nor drink and can lose one-third of body weight.
- Last year more than 1.7 million votes came from over 100 countries.
What's Happening
- Sixteen bears involuntarily participated, the Park Service said in thanks.
- Finalists' latest weights have not been revealed yet.
- Backpack was named for climbing onto mother Holly's back in Brooks River as a cub.
How Fat Bear Week works
- From June to mid-October the bears feed heavily on salmon in Brooks River.
- Largest males can weigh more than 540kg; females can exceed 300kg.
- Cubs are born weighing roughly half a kilogram.
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