Fat Bear Week begins after contestant’s fatal river mauling

The annual Fats Bear Week contest has begun in Alaska, simply days after one of many contestants was killed by a rival.

The competitors, which began a decade in the past, permits viewers to pick out their favorite brown bear after the animals have fattened up by gorging on salmon in preparation for winter.

However the starting of this yr’s contest was delayed by in the future after a feminine bear was killed by a male bear on Monday.

Your entire incident was captured on movie as cameras have been already arrange in anticipation of the competition, which is livestreamed around the globe every year.

Voters can choose between a dozen contestants for the crown of Fats Bear at Alaska’s Katmai Nationwide Park.

However a pall was forged over this yr’s occasion when one of many opponents, bear 402, was fatally mauled by bear 469 on Monday within the Brooks River for causes that stay unclear.

“Nationwide parks like Katmai defend not solely the wonders of nature, but additionally the tough realities,” Katmai Nationwide Park and Protect stated in an announcement.

“Every bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to outlive.”

Yearly brown bears from the nationwide park devour dozens of salmon a day alongside the Brooks River with the intention of bulking up earlier than winter.

Twelve bears are chosen for the Fats Bear Week bracket and followers can vote on-line to resolve the winner.

Among the many contestants this yr is the 2023 champion, Grazer, who’s a mom elevating her first cub.

Final yr’s runner-up, Chunk, has but to safe the title.

Over the previous 10 years the competitors has grown from a one-day occasion with 1,700 votes to a worldwide weeklong celebration.

Almost 1.4 million votes have been forged from greater than 100 nations in 2023, based on Katmai Conservancy and Discover.org, which assist organise the occasion.

Followers can vote on Discover.org’s web site on daily basis of the seven-day competitors.

A winner can be introduced 8 October.