Who's the fattest? 'Earl of Avoirdupois,' bear 747, beats 'Chunk' in Fat Bear Week 2020 championship
Who is the fattest bear of them all?
After a week of voting, southwest Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve has named bear 747 the winner of Fat Bear Week 2020.
The annual, bracket-style tournament celebrates the success of the pre-hibernation preparations by bears at Brooks River in Katmai National Park. The park asked social-media followers to vote on which husky hibernator is the fattest bear by voting on its website between Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.
"For each set of two bears, vote for one who you think is the fattest," the website explained. "The bear with the most votes advances. Only one will be crowned champion of Fat Bear Week."
The park has been keeping voters up to date on the competition's developments via social media. The 2020 finalists: 32 "Chunk" and 747.
"The votes are in!" the park said in a tweet Tuesday. "You’ve crowned the Earl of Avoirdupois, bear 747, the 2020 Fat Bear Week Champion. No longer the runner-up, 747 fulfills the fate of the fat and fabulous as he heads off to hibernation."
Match 11: Lardaceous Leviathan Levels Chunky Challenger
The votes are in! You’ve crowned the Earl of Avoirdupois, bear 747, the 2020 Fat Bear Week Champion. No longer the runner-up, 747 fulfills the fate of the fat and fabulous as he heads off to hibernation.#FatBearWeek pic.twitter.com/NpyguJiZb4— Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) October 7, 2020
The competition's website says that 747 appears to weigh at least 1,400 pounds and has become one of the most dominant bears at Brooks Falls.
NEW:"He’s found most often in the jacuzzi or the far pool," reads 747's online bio. "Only rival males of comparable size, of which there are very few, can challenge him for fishing spots."
The website says Katmai National Park hosts one of the world's largest concentrations of brown bears.
Bulking up is a necessity as bears prepare themselves for hibernation. So the fattest bears are actually considered the healthiest, since it means they have a stronger chance of surviving the winter.
Today’s the day we will crown 2020’s Fat Bear Week Champion. Where 747’s sedulous quest for salmon secured him a stout stomach, 32 Chunk’s playful pursuit of protein provided him a prodigious paunch. Who will win in the battle of the bellies?
Vote Here: https://t.co/NvXCYNigTJ pic.twitter.com/XfZJ4kIDIu— Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) October 6, 2020
Hibernation can last half a year, and a bear can lose up to one-third of its body mass during that time, the park explains. Before their winter slumber, bears enter a state of hyperphagia, when they eat nearly nonstop.
In order to make weight before hibernating, bears are known to stock up on sockeye salmon, which contain about 4,500 calories per fish. They can eat upward of two dozen fish per day during peak season.
Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, Charles Trepany
2019 winner: Who is the ‘fattest bear of all’? Her name is Holly, and she lives in Alaska
What is Fat Bear Week?: Find out before the winner is announced Tuesday
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fat Bear Week 2020 declares 747 its 'fat and fabulous' winner