Fat Bear Week (FBW) is one of my favorite weeks of the year. What is FBW? FBW is an annual celebration of success.
Brown Bears hibernate during the winter months in Alaska. During hibernation they lose 1/3 of their body weight. To prepare for this they spend the six months of summer eating a year's worth of food! Being the competitive species that we are, humans have made this a spectator sport. Which bear made the most gains? The public gets to decide!
It is usually in early October when FBW rolls around and it is held over the course of seven days. It concludes on Fat Bear Tuesday. During FBW people chose which bear to crown this year's champion in a tournament style bracket, created by Park Rangers, where bears are pitted against each other for our votes.
I look forward to FBW every year. One of the best things about FBW is watching the live camera feed from Katmai National Park in Alaska all summer. These brown bears aren't joking around! My family makes fun of me for having this on all the time, but you can actually really get into it if you start watching it. You start cheering on bear cubs who are stumbling and trying their best. You judge the lazy bears who just sit in the river, rather than grab their salmon from the falls. I promise, you can really get into it.
I linked the Brooks Falls Cam, which is probably my favorite live feed, at the top of this post but there are many to chose from. I recommend sampling them all!
So please, prepare yourself for FBW with me and join me in watching the live feed all summer. It is beary good entertainment!
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