JACKSON, Wyo. — Fat Bear Week means it is time to vote for the fattest bear of the year!
In recognition of the annual competition, the National Park Service (NPS) has shared the “tubbiest teddy” in the NPS History Collection archives. According to the NPS, in July 1931, as part of a wildlife survey of national parks led by George M. Wright, Joseph S. Dixon photographed a bear so rotund that it was infamously known at Yellowstone National Park (YNP) as “Fatty.”
While this Yellowstone bear was big, the NPS noted that many bears today achieve a much rounder status.
“Compared to modern Fat Bear Week competitors, Fatty was doing the bear minimum when it came to his paunch,” NPS wrote on Facebook.
Fat Bear Week originated in 2014, with a single-day competition to celebrate the brown bears and ecosystem of Katmai National Park. Ranger Mike Fitz at Katmai came up with the idea for “Fat Bear Tuesday,” creating an “online tournament where spectators could vote for a stout champion of the highest cali-bear.” The NPS wrote that the day highlighted the significant weight gain of bears in Katmai as they prepared for the winter ahead. Fat Bear Tuesday eventually expanded into a weeklong competition in 2015, and has since grown into an internationally recognized event.
The NPS reminds wildlife enthusiasts that even the cutest and fattest bears are wild animals that should be appreciated with respect and even greater distance. National park visitors should never feed wildlife.
Between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. MST, people can cast their vote for their favorite fat bear until Tuesday, Sept. 30.
