Katmai National Park and Preserve
- Fat Bear Week celebrates the pre-hibernation weight gain of bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park.
- Otis the bear has continued his dynasty and captured his fourth crown in 2021.
- Click HERE for more animal news!
480 Otis is coming for Tom Brady. The burly bear has been crowned the winner of Fat Bear Week for the fourth time, putting him within three titles of Brady’s seven Super Bowl rings.
Otis, also who won in 2014, 2016 and 2017, won this year’s competition by more than 6,000 votes over 151 Walker.
The people have spoken! The portly patriarch of paunch persevered to pulverize the Baron of Beardonkadonk in the final match of #FatBearWeek 2021. 480 Otis can now boast a bevy of bests w/ this fourth 1st place finish. As we celebrate, like a true champ 480 is still chowing down. pic.twitter.com/rLvm7pvGJW
— Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) October 6, 2021
The online competition (which has been held ever year since Otis’ first and inaugural win) celebrates the pre-hibernation weight gain of bears, both male and female, in Alaska. Specifically, Fat Bear Week focuses on those at Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The park encompasses more than four million acres in southwest Alaska and is home to about 2,200 brown bears. At more than 25 years old, Otis is one of the oldest bears in the park.
Here is his before and after transformation:
Katmai National Park and Preserve
The concept for the competition is simple. It is a single elimination tournament in which voters decide who is the fattest of the fat. For each round, which pits two bears against one another, voters choose who they think is the fattest.
Although it is too late to vote, you can meet this year’s entire cast of contestants HERE. The pre-hibernation weight gain is pretty insane.
Brown bears can add up to four pounds per day, and as the hibernation season begins, the largest adult males can weigh more than 1,200 pounds. They gorge all day on sockeye salmon from the Brooks River to prepare.
You can watch a 24-hour livestream here:
As a warm-up for this year’s Fat Bear Week bracket, park staffers added a junior bracket. The contest highlighted four of the park’s chubbiest cubs.
They faced off last month an a 9-month-old was declared the winner.
We have our first heavyweight – junior league – champion. 132’s springer stole the show with flab and floof to win the first #FatBearJunior Championship. Kudos to the cub! Can this apotheosis of cuteness compete with the behemoths of the big bracket? #FatBearWeek begins Sept. 29. pic.twitter.com/afymaNF13q
— Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) September 25, 2021
Congratulations to 132’s cub on his first win and congratulations to Otis for his continued dominance. The dynasty rolls on!