They are the legendary titans of the realm of fat bears.The bears 747 (and 856 as they are called by biologists) have large, dominant personalities and eat salmon in Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve. They are also internet-famous bears as they can be viewed worldwide on the explore.org bear cameras.But there can only one dominant bear.The aggressive, hyper-aggressive 856 bear ruled Katmai's Brooks River for most of the past decade. This is where the bears spend their summer and fall. He was a formidable opponent to other bears and attracted many breeding opportunities. A recent encounter with bear 856 revealed that his long and impressive reign could be ending, particularly as he gets older. He is around 20 years old, which is a bit older than a brown bear. Bear 747 is however of a similar age.New footage from bear cams captured the massive bear 747, the winner of last years Fat Bear Week contest. He is long considered the largest and fattest bear on cams and has reaffirmed his dominance over bear 852. Bear 747, who was located under the Brooks waterfall, approached bear 856 and intimidated the latter, eventually displacing 856 from the prime fishing spot at the river. Brown bears are known for their bold postures, rather than brawling or potentially hurting themselves.Mike Fitz, a former Katmai ranger and now a resident naturalist at explore.org, said that "Perhaps things have turned".Bear 856 could be enfeebled. Bear 747 is aware of this possibility.Fitz said that 856 might not feel as strong or well as in the past. Fitz suggested that 856 might be suffering from an illness or injury that we don't know about. Perhaps the rigors and aggression of his dominance over the past ten years have worn him down. 747's boldness suggests that he saw an opportunity to assert his dominance over a long-standing rival and was eager to seize it.The clip below shows bear 747 (on left) moving to the right and replacing bear 856.Bear 856 in a recent year. Credit: M. Fitz/NpsFitz believes that "perhaps the times have turned" as it is still possible bear 856 to regain his strength and assertiveness over the summer. A skinny, possibly injured 856 was seen backing away from large bears in 2017. However, he eventually returned to his former form and became dominant again.The bear cams will be showing the story of what will happen in 2015, after bear 747 punched bear 856 submissively in the river. The cameras capture the events at the Brooks River's busiest areas and document violent fights and hierarchy battles.SEE ALSO : Fat Bear Week's real winnerThis bear's long history with each other makes the saga even more fascinating. Since the mid-aughts, they have fished together at Katmai’s Brooks River. However, 856 has remained the dominant fisherman.Fitz stated that they have encountered each other year after years and 856 maintained his dominance over 747 (excluding 856's off year in 2017). This gave 856 more access to fishing spots and mating opportunities than 747.The wild drama will be live streamed. You can, too.
