{"id":909883,"date":"2026-09-26T03:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T03:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909883\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T03:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T03:26:20","slug":"fat-bear-week-the-annual-battle-of-the-bulge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909883\/","title":{"rendered":"Fat Bear Week: The Annual Battle of the Bulge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From September 22 to 29, the brown bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska will compete in the ultimate high-stakes bulk-up challenge: <a href=\"https:\/\/explore.org\/fat-bear-week\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Fat Bear Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This competition is not just about bragging rights; it\u2019s also about survival. During hibernation, these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweathernetwork.com\/en\/news\/weather\/seasonal\/why-you-should-stay-bear-aware-this-fall\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">bears can go up to six months without eating or drinking<\/a>, losing up to one-third of their body mass. Last year\u2019s champion, 32 Chunk, who was estimated to weigh 1,200 pounds, is looking to defend his title, but he faces some tough competition.<\/p>\n<p>Park officials have noted an increase in the number of cubs this year, leading to a new generation of fat bears vying for the crown.<\/p>\n<p><img url=\"\/\/images.twnmm.com\/c55i45ef3o2a\/7qsXRYGRftkMpus3oZD27A\/702f6e8bab4c1ab50864c65282b5b3bc\/a9539ca6-1810-4c06-99c1-b9f9af5de696.png\" alt=\"Fat Bear Week - 32 Chunk\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;object-fit:contain;object-position:center center;color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a9539ca6-1810-4c06-99c1-b9f9af5de696.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n32 Chunk is the reigning champ! (Courtesy: Explore.org)<\/p>\n<p>So, how does Fat Bear Week work? It is a <a href=\"https:\/\/explore.org\/fat-bear-week\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">single-elimination online tournament<\/a> hosted by the National Park Service. Bear enthusiasts can view before-and-after photos of the contestants and vote for the bear that has undergone the most significant transformation. Some bears are consuming up to 40 pounds of salmon a day, which is truly inspiring!<\/p>\n<p>Will 32 Chunk secure first place again, or will a new bear claim the top spot? You can <a href=\"https:\/\/explore.org\/fat-bear-week#h_6757205407121692994801926\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">cast your vote on the website explore.org<\/a>. Last year, the event received over 1.7 million votes from 100 different countries. The winner will be announced on the 29th.<\/p>\n<p>WATCH BELOW: Learn about the 2025 Fat Bear Week winner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From September 22 to 29, the brown bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska will compete in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":909884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2837,49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-909883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}