Bereaved Mama Bear Trounces Nemesis in Fat Bear Week
Defending champion Grazer defeated Chunk, who killed her cub, in a 40,000-vote landslide.
National Park Service
At the culmination of a fierce grudge match, defending Fat Bear Week champion bested her enemy to win this year’s pre-hibernation weight contest in Alaska. Grazer—reportedly one of Katmai National Park and Preserve’s most-respected brown bears—clinched the title for the second year running, defeating Brooks River’s biggest boy, Chunk, in a 40,000-vote landslide, according to NBC News. The victory is stunning for two reasons: One, because the widely feared Chunk retains dominion over the region’s best salmon-fishing spots and therefore enjoys an automatic advantage in the competition; and two, because Chunk fatally wounded Grazer’s cub over the summer, when the baby fell into the river and drifted into Chunk’s territory. Whether Grazer owes her victory to her impressive accumulated winter weight or her personal beef with Chunk is unclear, though two things can certainly be true at once.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.