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# I like Big Bears and I cannot lie
- URL: https://words-and-whimsy.ghost.io/i-like-big-bears-and-i-cannot-lie/
- Published: 2026-09-24T16:24:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T16:24:50.000Z
- Author: Christine Cowen

For some people, it’s the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. For others, it’s Spooky Season. For yet others, Easter wins hands down. For me? [Fat Bear Week](https://explore.org/fat-bear-week?ref=words-and-whimsy.ghost.io) is my holy season.

I discovered [Katmai National Park’s Fat Bear Week ](https://katmaiconservancy.org/fatbearweek?ref=words-and-whimsy.ghost.io)competition in 2023\. Grazer, oh she of big beautiful blond ears, stole my heart. In 2024, I was totally ready for Grazer and her cubs to be a dominant presence. And then, who struck? Chunk. Of course 32 Chunk, he of the scarred snout (He did not have a broken jaw at that point.), and questionable reputation. Chunk killed one of Grazer’s cubs. Grazer kicked his behind in return. This tragedy very well may have propelled her to a second victory. Pity and all the empathetic mamas voted for Grazer. 

![A brown bear stands in tall green grass looking up](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1785871434756-97796dd2e4e1?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDIyfHxLYXRtYWl8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzkwMjY1MjI4fDA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

Photo by [Cal Rollins](https://unsplash.com/@calrollins17?ref=words-and-whimsy.ghost.io) / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=api-credit)

2025 was the Return of Chunk and he managed to cruise to a victory. I feel I let Grazer down as during this competition I was recovering from surgery. I’m completely sure my vote would have swayed the world. In all reality, this was the year that Chunk had a broken jaw and I think there was more than a little nostalgia reflected in the results. 

Wait, back up, you say? What is Fat Bear Week, you ask? What, have you been living under a rock filled with no fun things?

Fat Bear Week is put on each fall by Katmai Conservancy and Explore.org. It helps to raise money to protect Katmai National Park and raise awareness of Grizzly Bears. The number one question I get from my students is: why do they need to be fat? Good question! Grizzly bears go into a state of hibernation each winter. They need all of the fat they gain to survive the winter. Put simply: a fat bear is a successful bear. This is especially true for the lady bears who might be ”with cub”.

**Fun fact**: It was this contest that taught me that lady bears give birth IN HIBERNATION. So, they perhaps go to sleep and wake up with kids. 

![a group of brown bears standing on top of a waterfall](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1634193944924-18f637999e59?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDZ8fE1hbWElMjBiZWFyfGVufDB8fHx8MTc5MDI2NjIwOHww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000)

Photo by [Pradeep Nayak](https://unsplash.com/@pradeepnayak?ref=words-and-whimsy.ghost.io) / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=api-credit)

Again, each year, Katmai Conservancy identifies bears to include in the sports bracket like competition that is Fat Bear Week. People the world over, or at least all of the cool people, check out the bears and vote for who they thing is the fattest bear. It is a single-elimination tournament, typically lasting about a week in September/October.

Another good question I get from middle schoolers: what do the bears get if they win? The bears neither know nor care that this contest is going on. *(Or wait, maybe they do and that would be an excellent story. Probably not suitable for children as there is a lot of bear-on-bear violence at play.)* In reality, what the bears get is a great chance at surviving the winter. For sure, no one is trying to catch the fattest bear and put a crown on him/her. *(I would totally try, but we’ve established I can be a little extra.)* 

Students were angered on behalf of Chunk that forest rangers didn’t try to repair his broken jaw. But Katmai’s excellent rangers rightly believe that they should not interfere with nature. Also, I know of no dentist that would volunteer for that service. *(Again, raised hand over here, but I know nothing about dentistry - human or bear.)*

Chunk seems to be thriving even with a broken jaw. One could call it karmic retribution for his cub assault rap sheet.

Check out all the bear action on [Explore.org’s live cams](https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bear-multiview?livecam=56&ref=words-and-whimsy.ghost.io) of Brooks Falls. You might be too late to vote in this year’s competition, but put it on your calendar for 2027!

[Brown Bear Multiview | Live Cams | Explore.orgWatch Brown Bear Multiview live cam on Explore.org.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/91/4a91fe2a-6429-4413-9956-3fff25e31e3f/content/images/icon/icon1-08eaba5e-35db-4841-92f1-2e54ffef70ed.png)Explore.org![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/91/4a91fe2a-6429-4413-9956-3fff25e31e3f/content/images/thumbnail/poster-livecamgroup-katmaimultiview-1750278151064-a2843f85-8e27-40db-a5ae-6ed66d245e1f.jpg)](https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bear-multiview?livecam=56&ref=words-and-whimsy.ghost.io)

#fatbearweek