It ’s time to put your money where the bear of Katmai National Park and Preserve ’s mouths are : Fat Bear Weekis back for 2022 . The annual competition lionize the seasonal fattening of Alaska ’s brown bear ( Ursus arctos ) as they prepare for their big winter sleep .

The Alaska Peninsula is home tomore bear than people , and Katmai is considered one of the best viewing sites in the world for bodacious brown bears . The unaltered home ground is so popular as it provide the bears with everything they need to subsist and thrive in the changing season , and come October they are draw lorge .

Why ? Because each winter brown bears willhibernate . The seasonal snooze look them wait out the worst of the cold weather in a six - month sleep that can take a third of their total physical structure free weight . As such , it pay to be at your portliest when hibernation clock time arrives .

![fat bear week](https://assets.iflscience.com/assets/articleNo/65607/iImg/62429/fat bear week 2022 competition.png)

Fat Bear Week 2022, Katmai National Park and Preserve and Explore.org

get Hibernation Body Ready is a competitive sport for these animals , as they must compete with each other to lay claim to the skilful fishing spots so they can overindulge themselves on sockeye salmon . The Pisces the Fishes is not only fat in fats but also readily available in Katmai , which each year sees around 3 million fish attempt to pass on through in the yearly salmon run .

With the water supply act like an aquatic Lazy Suzan providing an almost endless supplying of fatty Pisces , the bears can expect to bulge up by around1.8 kg ( 4 pounds)a daylight during the summer months . The bountiful buffet puts them into a state of hyperphagia as they eat as much as they can get in an attempt to stack on the lb .

It seems meet , then , that such epic efforts should be marked with a celebration – which is why theKatmai National Park and PreserveandExplore.orghost Fat Bear Week every October .

If the photos of downy bear stuffing their faces with fish are n’t enough to quicken your appetite , you could get affect with the Fat Bear Week sweepstake .

Each of the bear will be mark against one another in a conflict for the bulge as public votes decide who is merit of the Fat Bear Week summit . Will 747 soar upwards for the claim ? Has Chunk put on enough chonk to take the title ? Or will 164 ’s more relaxed coming of chilling by the “ jacuzzi ” make him the dark horse of this class ’s competitor ?

you may follow along and find out byvoting for your winner . athirst for more ? See what the bear are up to decently now onlive cam .