ALASKA — It down to the final day of voting for brown bears living along the Brooks River at Katmai National Park & Reserve as they fight to be the fattest in the fourth annual Fat Bear Week.
According to ABC 13, park rangers are tracking bears often seen on the explore.org Bear Cam as they stuff their faces in preparation for hibernation in March Madness-style brackets.
Alaskan brown bears start packing on the pounds in July. According to the National Park Service, bears enter a state known as hyperphagia where they eat non-stop and can fatten up to four pounds in a single day — so basically a normal 'Murican diet.
Some bears can devour dozens of sockeye salmon in one day, with each salmon providing around 4,000 calories.
Bears supersize themselves in preparation for hibernation and can lose up to a third of their body fat during the five to eight month slumber.
People can watch the big old bears on Katmai's Facebook page and get to vote until October 9, after which the winner will be crowned.
