This is Fat Bear Week's fattest bear

There are animals with fat bodies. There are bears that are so fat that they can't walk.

One of these bears is named the apty-named jumbo. He is the biggest bear wildlife watchers have ever seen at the park. The park's Fat Bear Week contest is an annual celebration of the success of fat bears in the wilderness. The winner is determined by the votes from the public.

I was cowered behind a fence as he lumbered by. Don't let it go from me. Take it from a bear expert who diligently observes these bears each year, and recently wrote a book about them.

Mike Fitz, a former park Ranger and resident naturalist for explore.org, wrote a letter to friends, humans, and ursids asking them to stand in awe of a true competitor. There is a candidate with conviction. The candidate is strong. He stands up for what he believes. A person is the size of a fridge. This week, vote for the big one.

Fitz has watched 747 eat 15 large sockeye salmon over just a few hours and he says that the giant keeps getting bigger.

In the last few years, a Ranger has said that there is more hippopotamus than bears.

The pictures show the transformation of the plane. The "fatter" image, showing a beefed up jumbo jet, was snapped by a park Ranger in September. He's even larger.

Left: June 2022 Credit: Photo courtesy of C. Rohdenburg

Right: Sept. 2022 Credit: Photo courtesy of L. Law

Bear 747's impressive 2022 transformation. Credit: Credit: Top: C. Rohdenburg / NPS // Bottom: L. Law / NPS

In a competitive bear world where even the largest bears have to tussle for the best fishing spots, bear 747 has proven successful. He's 20 years old, which is older for a brown bear. He knows how to catch fast moving salmon. He seems to have enough aggressiveness to command the best spots. He's really big. He is one of the most dominant bears. Most bears are good fishermen.

"Although dominant bears can maintain their rank in the hierarchy through aggression, 747 usually keeps his status by sheer size alone," says explore.org. Bears yield space upon his approach because they know they can't compete with him.

The bear ate a lot of fish this summer. Brown bears can eat over 6,000 fish in a season and provide some 4,500 calories. There has been a lot of work done.

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All of the other bears have done the same. It's important to eat in winter to survive. The animals lose 1/3 of their body weight during the winter. Their fat stores are their sole source of sustenance. Many of these bears return each summer because they know how to survive. They're good at catching fish and avoiding conflict.

A fat bear is in good shape. The bears are great. One person is the fattest.