Online voting in 'Alaska's Fat Bear Week' contest starts
WeirdNews
Online voting in 'Alaska’s Fat Bear Week' contest starts after attack killed one contestant
(Web Desk) – The voting process has started in the annual Fat Bear Week contest at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The viewers would pick their favorite among a dozen brown bears fattened up to survive the winter.
The competition, which has entered its 10th year, celebrates the resiliency of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula.
A bear’s death delays the contest
This year’s contest began - a day late - on Tuesday because one anticipated participant - a female known as Bear 402 - was killed by a male bear during a fight on Monday.
Cameras set up in the park to livestream footage of the bears all summer captured the killing, as they also captured a male bear killing a cub that slipped over the waterfall in late July.
“National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities,” park spokesperson Matt Johnson said in a statement. “Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.”
The nonprofit explore.org, which streams the uncensored bear cameras and helps organize Fat Bear Week, on Tuesday hosted a live conversation about the death.
Katmai National Park ranger Sarah Bruce said it wasn’t known why the bears started fighting.
“We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and ample body fat, but the ferocity of bears is real,” said Mike Fitz, explore.org’s resident naturalist. “The risks that they face are real. Their lives can be hard, and their deaths can be painful.”
