Fat Bear Week Begins, But One Contestant Dies in a River Fight

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The annual Fat Bear Week contest in Alaska has officially kicked off, but not without some drama.

According to BBC (Sunday, 6th October 2024), this decade-old competition allows viewers to vote for their favorite brown bear. The bears participate by fattening themselves up on salmon as they prepare for the long winter ahead.

However, the start of the 2024 Fat Bear Week was delayed by a day after a female bear was killed by a male bear on Monday (30th September).

The death was captured on video, as cameras were already in place to stream the event live to viewers worldwide.

Fans are invited to choose between a dozen contestants who are vying for the title of Fat Bear Champion at Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Unfortunately, this year’s event took a dark turn when one contestant, bear 402, was fatally attacked by bear 469 at Brooks River.

“Every bear seen on the cameras competes with others for survival,” they added.

Twelve bears were selected to participate in Fat Bear Week, and fans can vote online to choose the winner.

This year’s competitors include Grazer, the 2023 champion, a mother bear raising her first cub.

Over the last decade, this competition has grown from a one-day event with 1,700 votes into a week-long global celebration.

In 2023, nearly 1.4 million votes were cast from more than 100 countries, according to Katmai Conservancy and Explore.org, which help organize the event.

Fans can vote daily at the Explore.org website during the seven-day competition.

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