The results are in – the winner of Fat Bear Week 2024 is none other than everyone’s favorite mama bear, Grazer.
This is the second year in a row that Grazer (more formally known as 128) has been declared Katmai National Park and Preserve’s chonky champion, beating out her rival Chunk (32) to achieve 71,248 votes in comparison to his measly 30,468.
However, this year’s win is a particularly poignant one – not just because it was the second time that Grazer beat Chunk, but because her opponent was behind the death of one of her cubs earlier in the year.
Back in July, Grazer’s two first-year cubs were swept over Katmai’s famous Brooks Falls waterfall, carried by the water towards Chunk. Described by park officials as “the most dominant bear on the river”, Chunk attacked the cubs and though Grazer was quick to defend them, one of the cubs died from its injuries.
It’s no surprise then that the public got behind Grazer – who was known for squaring up to larger bears in defense of her cubs even before this year’s incident – and gave her a landslide win.
Then again, it’s probably safe to say she’d have been a contender anyway based on her chubbiness alone. Chunk might be, as the name would imply, pretty damn chunky, but Grazer is more than capable of keeping up. Such glorious rotundness can only be achieved by reaching true fishing finesse.
As naturalist and Fat Bear Week founder Mike Fitz said in a livestream celebrating the end of the competition, “[Grazer] is an incredibly skilled bear. Grazer can fish nearly anywhere at the Falls. She has preferred fishing spots, but she is able to fish at the lip, in the far pool, or even in the jacuzzi on rare occasions.”
“If she feels the Falls isn’t an option, she possesses the strength and agility to capture salmon while running through the water.”
An impressive bear in more ways than one, that’s for sure.
The build-up to this year’s competition took a dramatic turn when one of the bears due to take part, the adult female dubbed 402, got caught up in a fight and was killed by 469, an adult male. As a result, the tournament bracket was released a day later than initially planned, this time without long-standing contestant 402.
Once the contest got off to a start, however, all went smoothly – no voter fraud this time around.
