Fat Bear Week got off to a slow start on account of, well… bear on bear crime.
The annual celebration of Katmai National Park’s chonkiest bear was delayed after one of the bears murdered another… on camera. Fat Bear Week was gearing up for its 10th bracket when the popular Brooks River livestream camera captured male bear, 469, killing a big female bear, 402, at Katmai National Park & Preserve in Alaska.
The National Parks Service issued the following statement regarding the incident:
“National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities. Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.”
In the video, you can see the two bears start scrapping in the water, with the male 469 getting the better of 402.
Explore.org’s Mike Fritz said:
“Earlier today, a bear killed another bear on the river. It was caught live on the webcams and we thought, well, we can’t go ahead with our Fat Bear Week bracket reveal without addressing this situation first.”
Fritz was joined by Naomi Boak of the nonprofit Katmai Conservancy, and park ranger Sarah Bruce in providing some commentary on what happened as they analyzed the video, with Fritz saying that this fight was most likely over more than just competition for food. Park ranger Sarah Bruce said:
“We don’t know why they’re fighting. We do know that this time of year, bears are in that state of hyperphagia and they are eating anything and everything they can. I don’t know why a bear would expend so much energy trying to kill a bear… it’s uncommon, but it’s not completely out of the question.”
Boak added:
“It is pretty clear she is fighting for her life. There are certain triggers that happen, it happens with humans… whatever caused this initially stimulated a predatory or continuing predatory reaction by 469, and 402 is about as big as 469, so she fought, she fought and continued to fight. This is very difficult to watch… but we can’t assume that bears behavior is like our behavior.”
Wild scene on the Brooks River… RIP to 402, who was a beloved bear. She’s been watched by park officials for over 20 years, giving birth to 8 litters of cubs… more than any other female bear in the area.
Despite the delay, the Fat Bear Week bracket was eventually announced last night, with voting for Fat Bear Week opening up today:
Tomorrow, the election we all need begins!! 🐻🗳️#fatbearweek pic.twitter.com/Oi7lh3zwLR
— explore.org (@exploreorg) October 1, 2024
RIP 402.
You can witness the fight, as well as some of the expert commentary, below if you feel so inclined:
