ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The fairest and fattest of them all has been officially decided: 128 Grazer was crowned queen of Katmai National Park and Preserve's 2023 Fat Bear Week contest.
Graze, she did.
The mammoth mother bear snatched the win as easily as she snatches salmon at Brooks Falls. She soared past 32 Chunk for an easy win in the finals with an impressive 108,321 votes to Chunk's 23,134, according to the final tally on explore.org.
Grazer is a fierce mama bear who has successfully raised two litters of cubs, and will often preemptively confront and attack much larger bears, according to the National Park Service, even large and dominant adult males. You go girl! Her reputation was enough to keep 151 Walker away from her territory. Did that contribute to his first round exit from this year's Fat Bear Week competition? Walker couldn't be reached for comment.
Grazer was first introduced to Brooks River in 2005 and has become one of the best anglers in the river, where she's become quite the everywoman. She's a successful fisherman in many areas of the falls and will sometimes fish overnight. The bulky babe is particularly skilled at chasing down fleeing salmon--as well as patiently waiting to scavenge the dying salmon after they spawn. What can't she do?
One of Grazer's offspring, 428, was also a competitor in this year's Fat Bear Week as she navigated the river as an independent bear for the first time.
Chunk, the runner-up, roared into the finals by leveling up his confidence this year. In the past, Chunk's behavior was "enigmatic," the NPS said, but in 2023 he used his size to his advantage to challenge some of the other big boys of Brooks. Even returning champ 747 deferred some fishing spots to Chunk, allowing him to grow to one of the river's largest males.
The yearly tradition draws votes from thousands of fans who root for their favorite bulked-up bruins. Last year, more than one million votes were cast from all over the world.