May The Fattest Bear Win: Voting Opens For National Park's Pre-Hibernation Contest

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

So the American people are in the middle of a big decision.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Voting is happening now.

GREENE: That's right. And on the ballot, the fat bears of Katmai National Park.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE FITZ: Well, let's talk about Fat Bear Week, folks. It's the fattest week of the year.

MARTIN: That's Ranger Mike Fitz, who livestreamed the Alaska park's March Madness-style brackets. Instead of basketball teams, though, these contestants are bears, specifically bears who have gained a massive amount of weight over the past few months to prepare for hibernation.

GREENE: Yeah. Online voting to select the park's most corpulent brown bear started Tuesday and runs through next week, but there are some early favorites, like Bear 747.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FITZ: He is an absolute unit in the truest sense of the meme - a real tank, a giant among bears. And he's the largest bear I've ever seen and likely one of the largest bears alive on Earth.

MARTIN: Wow. So voter Emily Bear (ph) - no relation - lives in Madison, Wis. She is also a 747 fan.

EMILY BEAR: He's a big boy, yeah. And he has the angle that I like where you can see his little tail (laughter).

MARTIN: Seven-four-seven isn't the only chubby bear with a fan club. There's also the pear-shaped 32, nicknamed Chunk.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FITZ: What are you going to do, really, when Chunk and all of his Chunkomaniacs (ph) run wild on you?

GREENE: And there's 435, Holly. She's the reigning champ, actually - last year's fattest bear - a favorite of Ranger Naomi Boak.

NAOMI BOAK: The queen of corpulence - look at the difference between her in the beginning of the season and the end of the season. This girl got fat.

MARTIN: Voter Samantha Manictola (ph) is a 435, Holly, fan, too. Like many hardcore bear weak fans, she bases her vote purely on which bear in the matchup looks fatter.

SAMANTHA MANICTOLA: It's uncomplicated joy. It's just the bears are fat, and that's nice. And, like, as a human who is also fat, it's just really nice to see all of these memes that are like, hey, fatness is nice and, like, we enjoy this, and this is great for everybody.

MARTIN: The fattest bear of them all will take this year's crown on Wednesday.

GREENE: And then, pretty soon, these chunky bears will use the fat they have gained this summer and fall to make it through a long winter's nap. Oh, my goodness, bears, I wish I could join you there.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.