Gentle giant Backpack declared winner of Alaska’s Fat Bear Week
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Backpack → declare → Week
After a week of fierce competition, Backpack emerged victorious as Fat Bear Week champion, the heftiest bear of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
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Backpack → emerge → Park
The nonprofit running the longstanding contest announced that the bear, known for his pacifist nature, was the winner Tuesday with more than 100,000 votes, giving him a close win over Bear 910 with just over 50% of the poll.
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bear → run → poll
The contest, which is in its 12th year, celebrates the resilience of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula, which extends from the state’s southwest corner toward the Aleutian Islands.
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which → celebrate → Islands
Fat Bear Week was started in 2014 as an interactive way to inform the public about brown bears, the coastal cousins of grizzlies.
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Week → start → grizzlies
Last year’s winner, Chunk — known officially as Bear 32 — clinched his victory at an estimated 1,200 pounds.
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Chunk → know → pounds
He was handily defeated in the first round of competition this year by Bucky, who went on to lose a faceoff against Backpack, known officially as Bear 89.
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who → defeat → Bear
The event this year featured 16 bears vying for the heavyweight title in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament.
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event → feature → tournament
All voting is done online at www.fatbearweek.org, and the winner was declared Tuesday evening after the final poll closed.
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poll → do → www.fatbearweek.org
The public could watch the bears on explore.org’s livestream cameras before deciding on their favorite.
“Fat bears are successful bears,” the nonprofit says on its website.
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nonprofit → watch → website
This group gorges itself on the abundant salmon that return to the Brooks River starting in late June.
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that → gorge → June
It’s there that they can stuff themselves to accumulate the fat reserves they will need to survive the winter.
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they → ’ → winter
To be featured in the contest, the bears must frequent the area around the river.
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bears → feature → river
Backpack is the son of former Fat Bear Week champion Holly, who introduced him to the Brooks River when he was a first-year cub in 2006.
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he → introduce → 2006
His name was inspired by his habit of climbing onto his mother’s back when they swam the river.
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they → inspire → river
This year’s fans cheered on Backpack in the contest’s Instagram comments, noting his lineage and reputation as a gentle giant.
“Unlike many large adult male bears, Backpack hasn’t shown much aggression toward his competitors,” his contestant profile reads.
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profile → cheer → competitors
Backpack uses his “quiet strength” rather than brawling and is often seen in wildlife cameras sitting on a rock downstream, appearing to take in the scenery around him.
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Backpack → use → him
He defeated Bear 910, who is also the daughter of a former champion: 409 Beadnose.
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who → defeat → champion
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Report → start → news
Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600 to 900 pounds in midsummer.
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bears → weigh → midsummer
By the time they are ready to hibernate after feasting on migrating and spawning salmon, large males can weigh well over 1,000 pounds.
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males → hibernate → pounds
The bears may each eat as many as 30 fish a day this time of year, working hard to eat a year’s worth of food in about six months.
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bears → eat → months
During winter hibernation, the bears do not eat or drink and can lose one-third of their body weight.
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bears → eat → weight
Fat Bear Week’s contestants also included five bear families, in recognition of the record high number of families and cubs at the river this summer.
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contestants → include → river
A mother must feed and protect her cubs while also eating enough calories to sustain herself through hibernation.
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mother → feed → hibernation
Cubs often face the risk of attack by other bears due to territorialism or food scarcity.
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Cubs → face → territorialism
Bear 132 and her three spring cubs advanced to the semifinals, but lost out to Bear 910.
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Bear → advance → Bear
Bear 132 has become one of the largest and most experienced mother bears at Brooks River, according to her contestant profile.
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Bear → become → profile
In mid-July, one of her cubs became separated from the family for several days, wandering the river corridor alone. They were reunited a few days later.
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They → separate → corridor
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