The Rangers at Katmai National Park had a bit of fun on Facebook yesterday: they ran a contest, with their followers voting on who was the fattest star from their bearcams this summer. They put together a photo collage of each bear’s “before” and “after” figures, proving that bears do one thing very well in the Alaskan summer: they eat, and then they eat some more.
It’s as if they’re storing up for the winter or something…. Click on the photos to get the photos larger. Not life size, mind you, but larger!
Best comment of the day came from Stuart Siegfried, who commented on 409’s picture, ” ‘Does this fur make my butt look big??’ Holy cow.”
For all of Katmai’s bears, fat equals survival. Brown bears will lose one quarter to one third of their body mass during hibernation. The fat they now carry sustains them through winter hibernation and well into next spring.
The 2 finalists were Otis and “4 Ton,” I mean, 410. It’s big boy versus big girl. They handled the pressure differently, as the live Bearcams showed yesterday:
Otis did some last minute fishing to round out his bulk.
410, oozing with confidence, decided it was time for a nap.
The results after a full day of voting: Otis, estimated to weigh 900 pounds, reigns as the champion of #FatBearTuesday!
Otis, in his office, doing what he does best: fishing.
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