From PBS NewsHour.

America has a new favorite fat bear.

Overcoming a broken jaw and an injured paw, Bear 32, also known as ‘Chunk,’ was proclaimed the winner of this year’s “Fat Bear Week.”

In the week-long annual competition, viewers follow 12 bears via webcam as they gorge on salmon at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, and then vote for their favorite in an online bracket competition.

As salmon swim upstream to return to their native spawning grounds, the bears wait, catch and devour as many as they can to bulk up before their coming winter hibernation.

According to Katmai National Park ranger Sarah Bruce, an estimated 200,000 salmon made their way up the Brooks River in the park this year.

At the competition’s end, Chunk’s final weight was estimated to be around 1,200 pounds.

#nature #fatbearweek #katmainationalpark #bears #animals #salmon

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