Fat Bear Week 2022: Meet this year's chunky challengers competing for the top spot

Fat Bear Week is an annual, single-elimination tournament in which the public votes for which bear they think is the fattest. Not only are they voting for the chunkiest contender, but they are also judging which bear was most successful in preparing for hibernation. "Which brown bear best transcends the ordinarily large and enters the realm of extraordinarily fat?" Explore.org, the creator of the competition, asks. "There’s no fat shaming in Fat Bear Week.

Bristol Bay is a wild region of Alaska and is home to more brown bears than people and the largest, healthiest runs of sockeye salmon left on the planet.BEAR-LY RECOGNIZABLE: LIVE CAMERAS SHOW HOW THE FUZZY CREATURES CHANGE AFTER HIBERNATIONLike every single-elimination tournament, the bear with the most votes will advance to the next round and could soon be crowned champion. The contest will run from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11.

While it might seem silly to vote on the fattest bear and call it a success story, the competition highlights the importance of bears preparing for hibernation. Hyperphagia is when bears try to eat whatever they can to pack on the pounds and survive the winter. It usually lasts from late summer to early fall.

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