Fat Bear Week is underway, and Alaska’s brown bears are once again the stars of the season as they pack on weight ahead of hibernation. The annual event, centered on the salmon-rich streams of Katmai National Park, invites the public to vote on which bear has bulked up the most impressively before winter sets in.
At this time of year, bears along Katmai’s rivers are feeding heavily, mostly on salmon but on whatever else they can find, in order to build the fat reserves that will carry them through months of sleep. Brown bears can reach roughly half a ton at their heaviest before hibernation, only to emerge in spring noticeably leaner.
The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service have leaned into the lighter side of the tradition this year, posting bear-themed memes and rhymes on social media to promote voting. One Interior Department post read:
Chub in the tub,
Chunk in the trunk,
Salmon gets spotted,
Salmon gets dunked.
Big on the belly,
Thick through the thighs,
Winter is coming,
Supersize.
Another post featured Bear 151, known as “Walker,” with the caption: “Vote for your favorite bear and remember, if the salmon are runnin’, the big backs are comin’.” The National Park Service also shared a post referring to a bear’s rounded frame as a “Honky Chonk Beardonkadonk.”
Fans can cast votes for their favorite bears through the official Fat Bear Week site before voting closes.
A reminder about the wildlife behind the jokes
The memes are lighthearted, but wildlife officials and outdoor enthusiasts note that even at their heaviest, these bears remain powerful, fast-moving predators. Getting between a brown bear and a food source, particularly along a salmon stream, can be dangerous.
Alaska is also home to black bears and polar bears, but it’s brown bears — sometimes called grizzlies — that dominate the salmon streams during this fattening season. Black bears typically rely on berries, tubers and occasional carrion or fresh kills rather than competing with brown bears at the water’s edge, in part because larger bears do not tolerate them nearby.
Fat Bear Week concludes soon, and organizers are encouraging the public to get their votes in before it wraps up.
