Fat Bear Week officially underway at Alaska’s Katmai National Park

Oct. 2 (UPI) — Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska kicked off its annual Fat bear Week, with 12 corpulent bears competing to pack on the pounds and earn the public’s favor.

The park revealed its bracket Tuesday night, and voting on the official Fat Bear Week website opened to the public at noon Wednesday.

This year’s bracket includes 2023 Fat Bear Week winner, Grazer, as well as other returning favorites including Chunk, Walker, 747, 164 and 901. The bracket is rounded out by several big-bellied brown bear newcomers.

“Fat Bear Week is a celebration of success and survival,” the official Fat Bear Week website reads. “It is a way to celebrate the resilience, adaptability and strength of Katmai’s brown bears.”

Members of the public can vote daily for their favorite blubbery bears to move forward in the bracket, with the overall winner being selected in the final round of voting Tuesday.