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Fat Bear Week: Who was crowned the winner this year?
Image source, Getty Images
2024 marks 10 years since the beginning of the Fat Bear Week competition, and we now have a brand new winner!
The event took place from 2-8 October this year.
It shines a spotlight on some of the huge brown bears which have made their home at Brooks River in Alaska's Katmai National Park.
The animals gain lots of weight in preparation for hibernation, feasting on lots of different foods including salmon, berries, herbs, ground squirrels and roots.
Which bear came out on top this year? Read on to find out more!
Its... Grazer!
Image source, Fat Bear Week
Congratulations Grazer for munching on the most fish, berries and roots!
This is Grazer's second year in a row winning the competition - she seems to be a bit of a legend in the Fat Bear Week community!
Now Grazer has gained a good amount of weight for winter, she should be happy as the weather gets colder.
How does the competition work?
Image source, Katmai Conservancy
During the tournament, pairs of fat bears go head-to-head in a vote.
The public chooses which bear in each match-up they believe to have made the most impressive weight gain.
The bear with the most votes goes through to the next round and the bear not chosen is sadly eliminated.
Voters are able to learn more about the competing animals online, where they can compare their photos and also learn about each bear's history.
After days of incredibly fierce competition, this year's Fat Bear Week champion was crowned on Tuesday.
The 2024 champion, Grazer, is now a new mum raising her first cub and is the first mother bear to win the competition.
A global bear-filled phenomenon
Image source, Getty Images
Fat Bear Week has taken off over the last decade, gaining fans worldwide.
It has grown from a one-day event with 1,700 votes to a weeklong competition with almost 1.4 million votes cast from more than 100 countries.
"Fat Bear Week is an election in which every candidate is fit for office," says the founder of explore.org Charlie Annenberg. The organisation runs the competition in partnership with Katmai Conservancy and Katmai National Park service.
"The bears have demonstrated their credibility through hard work, skill, and the growth of their waistline. Each aims to achieve the same goal-surviving winter hibernation. They all are worthy of our respect and admiration."
What is hibernation?
Image source, Getty Images
Hibernation is a way for animals - such as butterflies, hedgehogs, bears and bats - to survive cold winters without having to hunt for food or move to somewhere warmer.
Instead, they head into cosy dens and go into a sleep-like state for a few months, where they do not eat or drink, and turn down their metabolisms to save energy.
It's very important that brown bears put on lots of weight before winter ahead of hibernation season, as they can lose up to a third of their body weight during this time.
The more they gain, the better they're likely to do during the cold months.