Bear surprises jogger on trail, swipes at her leg
A bear is seen surprising a jogger from the bushes on a trail while a bystander distracts bear so runner can flee.
In today’s warm and fuzzy news, the winner of this year’s “Fat Bear Week” competition has been crowned by an Alaskan national park.
After a fierce few days of online voting, officials for Katmai National Park and Preserve in King Salmon have announced a hunky and chunky bear named 747 as the victor of the 2020 contest.
For the annual event, Katmai rangers release a list of the chubbiest brown bears of the Brooks River and invite the public to vote on their favorite massive mammals in a single-elimination, “survival of the fattest” tournament.
The 2020 Fat Bear Week winner, Bear 747 (National Park Service)
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This year, 12 bodacious bears battled for greatness from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5, and newcomer 747 took the top prize on Tuesday, even defeating last year's champ Holly, intimidatingly known as the "Queen of Corpulence."
According to the park service, 747 was classified and awarded his number in 2004. Ever since, “he has grown to be maybe the largest and heaviest bear on the Brooks River,” per the announcement.
The final bracket of the 2020 "Fat Bear Week" competition, hosted by Katmai National Park and Preserve in King Salmon, Alaska. (National Park Service)
“This year he really packed on the pounds, looking like he was fat enough to hibernate in July and yet continuing to eat until his belly seemed to drag along the ground by late September,” the statement joked. “When asked what he intends to do now that he has won, the only response was a look before going back to fishing in the Jacuzzi near the Brooks Falls, one of his favorite fishing spots.”
The brown bears put on weight for winter, the park service explained, bulking up to sate their hunger and survive the coldest months.
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“For these bears, fatness means odds are good for a successful hibernation during which time they live off their accumulated fat, losing up to 1/3 of their body mass in the process,” Katmai officials wrote. “This week celebrates their success and wishes them a good hibernation!”
Those eager to visit the gorgeous, wild region should bear in mind that there are more brown bears than people in Katmai National Park and Bristol Bay.
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Fox News’ Alexandra Deabler contributed to this report.