Katmai National Park in Alaska just held a Fat Bear Week. People everywhere voted on which bear they think is the fattest based on photos taken of them before and after they began packing on pounds for their hibernation. Over 65,000 people voted in the final elimination round. Some of the bears are just named numbers, such as the front-runner, 747, but other bears had charming names like Otis and Chunk. If I were in charge, all the bears would have cute names, like Lorenzo, Dolly, or Plop. The park encourages people to not only base their votes on the overall fatness and weight gains of the bears, but also gives little bios about each of the bear’s personal histories so voters can base their votes on the extenuating circumstances of each bear, such as whether or not the bear is a mother or older than the rest. I highly encourage everyone to check out the bears’ bios and scroll down to “Holly’s spring cub” to see the fluffiest, chunkiest little bear cub ever. A big congratulations to the contest’s expected winner, 747, who is an absolute unit of a brown bear and was estimated to weigh more than 1,400 lbs last year.
Fat Bears. (Rain Neeposh/The Cascade)
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
