The Albany Gazette - Big news: Annual eating contest roars to life in Fat Bear Week

The annual tongue-in-cheek contest pits bears against each other as they stuff themselves with salmon to prepare for months of hibernation.

The unwitting competitors -- known only by their numbers -- battle it out in a series of head-to-head votes, with hundreds of thousands of people around the world expected to cast a ballot.

The winner at the end of the week will be the bear voters judge to have piled on the most pounds.

The online contest began in 2014 with just a few thousand people voting, but has now turned into an outsize exercise in democracy.

Organizers said that around 1.2 million votes were cast from more than 100 countries in Fat Bear Week 2024.

"Like a bear's body mass in late summer, anticipation for the tournament continues to grow," said a statement from Katmai Conservancy and Explore.org, who organize the contest.

"Last year, 128 Grazer won her second Fat Bear Week championship and became the first mother bear to win. Does she have the size and story to earn a three-peat?"

Voters compare before-and-after pictures of the enormous animals in Katmai National Park, Alaska to see which one looks best equipped to thrive in the lean months of hibernation.

The aim is to raise awareness of brown bears and their habitat in Alaska, and the risks they face from human activity.

Around 2,000 bears in the park start chubbing up in late summer and early fall. They can eat up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of salmon a day as they prepare for five months of hibernation.

During the deep sleep, the animals rarely wake to eat, drink or even go to the toilet, emerging famished -- and a lot thinner -- in the spring.

Voting in this year's poll -- at explore.org/fat-bear-week -- closes at 5:00 pm Tuesday in Alaska (0100 GMT Wednesday).

(N.Miller--TAG)