It is that time of year again for me to evangelize the delight, the wonder, the joy that is Fat Bear Week.

Every fall, Katmai National Park in Alaska hosts a March-Madness-style bracket elimination tournament for the fattest, chonkiest bears in the park. And it starts TOMORROW!

Every day, from September 22-29, you can visit the Fat Bear Week website and vote for your favorite fat bears of the day. Do the bears have to perform any labor for this championship? No. Except their usual summer salmon feeding frenzy. Are they aware that it’s happening? Again, no. Would they care? Probably not? But is it a fun and uplifting dose of merriment AND a great way to raise awareness about the importance of subarctic ecosystems for large mammals, especially in the face of escalating climate change? Beary much.

From the website:

Vote for the fattest bear of the year! Some of the largest brown bears on Earth make their home at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Brown bears get fat to survive. Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating their success in preparation for winter hibernation. Matchups are open for voting September 22 - 29 between 12 - 9  p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pacific / 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Alaska.

This is a single elimination tournament. For each match-up, vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears. The bear with the most votes advances to the next round. Only one will be crowned Fat Bear Week champion.

Meet the bears, download and fill out your bracket, predict your fat bear winner, and campaign for your candidate. 

Perhaps you’d like to meet the past champions of Fat Bear Week, each with a backstory as hefty as their backsides. For instance, 2019 champion and fan favorite Holly “adopted” and raised an abandoned bear cub in 2014 five years after one of her own cubs was killed. I know it’s important to not anthropomorphize animals, especially large predators, but it was hard not to want to give that mama bear of a blended family her crown.

How to pick a winner in each day’s matchup? You could vote for:

• the largest-looking bear

• the scariest looking bear

• the cutest

• the bear that looks like she gained the most between June and September, like 909 below

• the bear that had the most challenges to overcome

• the bear with the biggest family to feed

• the bear with the best photo

• or some other criteria known only to you.

If your heart is feeling heavy this week, I suggest voting for your favorite heavy bear.