A new champion has been crowned in this year's edition of Fat Bear Week.
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champion → crown → Week
The annual online poll, which showcases brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, ended with a battle between two of the region's most titanic residents.
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which → showcase → residents
If you're unfamiliar with the popularity contest, or missed this year's festivities, our Fat Bear Week group chat will get you up to speed.
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chat → miss → speed
Geez, I'm hearing a lot of chatter about Fat Bear Week.
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I → hear → Week
What did I miss?!
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I → miss → What
I think he was a favourite among the livestream viewers.
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he → think → viewers
I just checked the final tally: 89 Backpack got about 103,000 votes while 910 had about 98,000.
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910 → check → 98,000
Why is he called Backpack?
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he → call → ?
Backpack's name is a reference to how he would climb onto his mother's back when swimming in the river.
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he → climb → river
His mother Holly won Fat Bear Week in 2019.
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mother → win → 2019
About 20 years old, he's known for being a calm fella.
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he → know → ?
While most adult male bears show aggression to their competitors, Backpack uses a quiet strength to gain access to his favourite fishing spots.
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Backpack → show → spots
910's mother, 409 Beadnose, won Fat bear Week in 2015 and 2018.
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mother → win → 2015
As a Paddington superfan, I'm thrilled to see all this bear chat but I don't really get what Fat Bear Week
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I → thrill → chat
It's like a popularity contest for a group of bears living in this one specific national park in Alaska.
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It → live → Alaska
It was started by a fellow bear enthusiast!
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It → start → enthusiast
Back in 2012, cameras were installed throughout the park so people could watch live streams of the bears fishing for salmon.
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people → instal → salmon
And people got right into it.
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people → get → it
It had a huge following.
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It → have → following
One year, a viewer posted a before-and-after comparison of how much one of the bears had beefed up.
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one → post → bears
This blew up on social media and eventually led to park rangers capitalising on the fan interest and starting up the week-long comp.
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rangers → blow → comp
I think it's safe to say we all appreciate them for kick-starting one of the most wholesome events on the internet calendar.
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we → think → calendar
Yep, and people all over the world vote for their favourite bears.
So what's it got to do with the bears beefing up?
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bears → vote → what
The bears are bulking up so they can survive off their fat stores when they hibernate for winter.
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they → bulk → winter
They're basically prepping for a months-long famine.
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They → preppe → famine
Ohhh yeah, it's spring here, which means it's autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
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it → mean → Hemisphere
How much do you reckon you need to eat before hibernation?
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you → reckon → hibernation
I saw Katmai rangers saying the bears can eat more than 30 salmon a day.
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bears → see → salmon
I can't imagine having the same meal every day 🥴
I've just done the maths on that.
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I → imagine → that
With salmon about 4,500 calories a pop, it means these ursine bodybuilders have a typical daily intake of about 135,000 calories!
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bodybuilders → mean → calories
And I thought my bulking seasons were gnarly…
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seasons → think → ?
So how does this competition work?
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competition → work → ?
How does a bear win?
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bear → win → ?
They have knockout rounds, like the World Cup.
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They → have → Cup
Here's how it looked this year:
People are told to vote for "the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears".
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you → look → bears
I didn't mind that 164 Bucky fella…
I stuck with the reigning champ, 32 Chunk.
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I → mind → champ
He copped a broken jaw last year and learned to adapt to his disability.
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He → cop → disability
Before that, he had been a Fat Bear Week runner-up four times, so I was happy to see the corpulent king defending his title.
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king → see → title
Too bad Bucky knocked him out in the first round!
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Bucky → knock → round
I liked 131 Marshmallow — she had the cutest name.
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she → like → name
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
