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Bear 910 vs. Backpack: It's the final showdown for Alaska's Fat Bear Week
PBS • • general
Key Points:
- Bear 910 and Backpack (Bear 89) are the final contenders in Alaska's Katmai National Park Fat Bear Week, an annual competition celebrating the park's brown bears' resilience and weight gain before hibernation.
- The contest, now in its 12th year, features 16 bears competing in a single-elimination tournament, with public voting conducted online to determine the winner.
- Bears gain significant weight by feasting on salmon at Brooks River, with adult males reaching over 1,000 pounds before hibernation, during which they lose about one-third of their body weight.
- This year's competition also highlights bear families, recognizing the challenges mothers face in feeding and protecting cubs; Bear 132 and her three cubs reached the semifinals before losing to Bear 910.
- The event aims to educate the public about brown bears and their survival strategies, with live streams available for viewers to observe the bears in their natural habitat.
