747 Wins Fat Bear Week In Alaska

As we close the week, a bit of humor…I think we all need it. Our story takes us to Alaska, where a very fat bear, aptly called 747, has just won a very special honor.

747 Grizzly Bear Wins Fat Contest In Alaska

Last week was Fat Bear Week at Katmai National Park in southern Alaska. At this time of year, bears are feasting greedily on salmon in order to bulk up for the long winter hibernation.

For several years now, Katmai National Park has sponsored a Fat Bear Week contest that even has the sort of brackets you would expect in collegiate sports. Fans around around the world can watch these bears in action via webcams and then vote. The object: pick the fattest bear.

a poster with a group of bears

This year, the winner was bear number 747, who received 47,055 votes. Normally these bears are numbered but have nicknames, but bear #747 needed no additional nickname: the Queen of the Skies was the prefect one. 747 is now this year’s Earl of Avoirdupois.

Match six of #FatBearWeek brings the charismatic contestant, bear 812, up against the lardy leviathan, bear 747. Can 812’s charm persuade voters or will 747’s diligent dining deliver a win?

Vote Here: https://t.co/NvXCYNigTJ pic.twitter.com/baTmnnCR8O

— Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) October 2, 2020

(In case you were wondering, avoirdupois is a measurement system of weights which uses pounds and ounces as units…i.e. the Imperial System. But in short, avoirdupois means weight or heaviness.)

BIG NEWS!!! The votes are in for @KatmaiNPS’s annual #FatBearWeek tournament and 747 is the champion! One of the park’s biggest bears, 747 is estimated to weigh in at over 1,400 lbs! Congrats! Is there cake? pic.twitter.com/73JYbNSMEu

— National Park Service (@NatlParkService) October 7, 2020

CONCLUSION

Bears are simple creatures and with full stomachs and a warm place to sleep don’t need much in terms of prizes. But Bear 747 lives in infamy as the winner of the 2020 Fat Bear Week. Congrats to the king of bears, the queen of the skies.