Fat Bear Week is back. Meet the heavyweights vying for the title

Fat Bear Week is back, featuring the 16 Alaskan brown bears competing for the title of heavyweight champion. The annual contest starts on the first day of fall, September 22, with voting open until September 29. This year's competition includes five bear families, two subadults, four single adult females, and five adult males who reside in Katmai National Park. Among them is the reigning champion, Chunk, who weighed around 1,200 pounds last year.

Voters will judge the bears based on their before-and-after photos from late spring to early fall, focusing on how well each bear bulked up during the summer season. The bear with the least votes in a pairing will be eliminated. This year, there are more cubs participating in the competition than in previous years, Park Superintendent Mark Sturm noted. "A new generation of fat bears is taking shape, and they're off to a strong start," he said.

The competition is not just about fun and games, as the stored body fat is crucial for the bears' survival during hibernation. During winter, the bears do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate, so they must accumulate ample fat reserves to survive six months without food. The Fat Bear Week began as a one-day event in 2014 when park ranger Mike Fitz discovered the significant changes a bear undergoes over several months while scrolling through comments on a live feed of Brooks Falls.

This led to the creation of Fat Bear Tuesday, an online voting event held on Facebook. To cast a vote for the fattest and most winter-ready bear, visit fatbearweek.org.