Fat Bear Week, set to announce its brackets on Monday, Sept. 30, has been delayed following a deadly battle between two Alaskan grizzlies in Katmai Nationwide Park.
Based on CBS, a conflict between a male bear, known as 469 and “Patches,” and an older feminine bear, known as 402, by the Brooks River in Katmai led to one of many bears dying—and the incident was caught on one of many park’s livestreams.
The bears had been “grappling, biting and thrashing at one another,” The Washington Post reported. Bear 469 in the end overtook 402, who sank into the water.
Mike Fritz, resident naturalist at Explore.org, which hosts the Fats Bear Week contest, spoke in regards to the battle throughout a livestream scheduled to announce the 2024 Fats Bear Week bracket.
“Earlier at the moment, a bear killed one other bear on the river. It was caught reside on the webcams, and we thought, nicely, we won’t go forward with our Fats Bear Week bracket reveal with out addressing this case first,” he mentioned through CBS. Fritz added that officers consider the animal confrontation was food-related.
“We like to rejoice the success of bears with full stomachs and ample physique fats,” he continued, stating the fact of the huge animals. “However the ferocity of bears is actual, the dangers that they face are actual, their lives might be arduous, and their deaths might be painful.”
Katmai Park ranger Sarah Bruce additionally spoke on the livestream in regards to the unlucky incident, explaining that bears are ravenous throughout this time of yr, consuming as a lot as they will as they put together for hibernation.
“I do not know why a bear would wish to expend a lot vitality attempting to kill one other bear as a meals supply,” she mentioned. “It is an unusual factor to see a bear predating on one other bear, but it surely’s not utterly out of the query. So it is arduous to say how this began.”
Bruce instructed The Washington Put up that aggressive interactions between bears are normally transient. This specific skirmish lasted over 20 minutes.
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Based on The Washington Put up, the Fats Bear Week bracket will now be introduced on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. ET, and voting for Fats Bear Week 2024 will run by means of Oct. 8.
Fats Bear Week happens yearly, celebrating the bears of Alaska’s Katmai Nationwide Park as they bulk up forward of hibernation, gaining a whole lot of kilos.
Throughout the occasion, bear fanatics vote at explore.org/fat-bear-week on which bear, primarily based on its collected mass, they assume is most ready for hibernation.
There are sometimes a number of rounds of voting to get rid of bears, and a winner is topped earlier than hibernation kicks off. The Washington Put up stories that the annual occasion has been live-streamed since 2012, and greater than 10 million folks tune in to observe the bears bulk up.
Bear 402, who died as a result of battle, had by no means gained Fats Bear Week however was identified for being a protecting mom who gave start to eight litters of cubs throughout her life at Katmai Nationwide Park.