Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve’s annual celebration of brown bears gearing up for hibernation kicked off Wednesday morning. Fat Bear Week is a bracket-style competition where twelve chunky bears are pitted against each other for the adoration of online voters.

Each fall, Katmai National Park and Preserve’s Fat Bear Week celebrates bears gearing up for hibernation and the salmon that nourish them. Grazer, a dominant two-time mother, was crowned this year's champion.

Twelve chunky bears will compete bracket-style this week for the adoration of online fans and animal enthusiasts around the world. Held at Katmai National Park and Preserve, Fat Bear Week celebrates the success of the park’s bears in preparation for hibernation.

Four chubby cubbies will face off this week in a tournament-style bracket to take home the crown of Fat Bear Junior Champion. Pitted against one another for the highest number of votes, the winner has a chance to compete against their senior bear counterparts next week.

For the second time in three years, the jumbo jet-sized 747 has been crowned champion of Fat Bear Week.

While the Bristol Bay salmon that feed Katmai's famous brown bears continue to be a success story, salmon runs around the rest of the state‚ including on the Kenai Peninsula, are in decline.

This year's bears will be revealed on Monday, and voting in the March Madness-style tournament will start Wednesday.

Voter turnout in local Kenai Peninsula elections was really low this fall.But there’s one competition in Alaska that saw its highest voter turnout ever…

Wednesday marks the beginning of a distinctly Alaska holiday—a whole week of celebrating chubby ursine creatures. That’s right—it’s Fat Bear Week.Fat Bear…