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Gentle giant Backpack wins Alaska’s Fat Bear Week
aljazeera.com • • nation
Key Points:
- Backpack won the 12th annual Fat Bear Week contest in Alaska’s Katmai National Park, securing over 100,000 votes and narrowly defeating Bear 910 with just over 50% of the poll.
- The competition featured 16 bears in a single-elimination tournament, celebrating the brown bears’ ability to gain weight by feasting on salmon before winter hibernation.
- Backpack, known for his gentle nature and “quiet strength,” is the son of former champion Holly and was praised for his non-aggressive behavior during the contest.
- Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600-900 pounds in midsummer but can exceed 1,000 pounds before hibernation, during which they lose about one-third of their body weight.
- The contest also highlighted bear families, with Bear 132 and her three cubs reaching the semifinals, underscoring the challenges mothers face in protecting and feeding their young.
