Keen viewers throughout the globe tuned in to observe brown bears fishing for salmon in Katmai Nationwide Park yesterday within the lead as much as Fats Bear Week, however issues took a grizzly flip when two bruins ended up in an on-screen battle to the demise.
Round 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning, the Kat River View digital camera picked up two bears often known as 469 (male) and 402 (feminine) getting right into a combat within the river. The vicious altercation lasted a number of minutes earlier than 469 dragged the lifeless physique of 402 out of the water and commenced to tear at her physique earlier than disappearing along with her off-screen. Grizzly bears are identified to combat aggressively when competing for meals and can eat their very own form so the incident is taken into account pure conduct.
Yesterday was the day the bracket for the normally lighthearted Fats Bear Week was to be introduced, so many viewers had been stay streaming the motion and had been caught off guard by the distressing footage, with one viewer commenting: “I’m devastated. poor 402. Relaxation in Peace.”
The Nationwide Park Service introduced they might be suspending the 2024 Fats Bear Week Bracket Reveal till right this moment, October 1 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET as 402 was listed as one of many bears within the 2024 contest.
“We like to rejoice the success of bears with full stomachs and ample physique fats in Fats Bear Week, however the ferocity of bears is actual. The dangers they face are actual. Their lives will be arduous and their deaths will be painful,” writes the NPS.
“Nationwide parks like Katmai shield not solely the wonders of nature, but additionally the tough realities. Every bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to outlive.”
The highly-anticipated March Insanity-style bracket competitors has attracted hundreds of thousands of wildlife followers across the globe since its inception in 2014 and it’s made some bears well-known, together with the now-deceased 402. She even has her personal wiki fandom web page which reveals she was the mom of eight cubs born over two litters.
This isn’t the primary time viewers of Katmai’s livestream have been taken unexpectedly – in September 2023, a misplaced and scared hiker confirmed up within the body begging for assist. Fast-thinking viewers commented below the feed that there gave the impression to be a hiker in want of help and because of this, a mountain rescue group situated the person and evacuated him to security.
No matter this yr’s Fats Bear Week has in retailer for us, one factor is for certain – it’s by no means boring.
What’s Fats Bear Week?
Fats Bear Week is a celebration of Katmai Nationwide Park’s wholesome, bear-friendly ecosystem. The Alaska Nationwide Park is likely one of the finest brown (grizzly) bear viewing areas on the planet with nicely over 2,000 bears and a few of the highest bear densities ever recorded.
With the salmon leaping within the Brooks River, the time is ripe for Katmai’s bruins to fatten up earlier than going into winter torpor, a near-hibernation state the place they’ll spend most of their time sleeping. Throughout this time, the bears will lose about one-third of their physique weight, so the fatter they will get within the fall, the better their possibilities of survival. Throughout Fats Bear you possibly can vote on which bear you assume would be the greatest by the tip of the competitors.
Voting for the principle occasion takes place October 2 – 8, with the bracket revealed September 30. The champion fats bear will likely be topped on Monday, October 8.
Collaborating is straightforward – head to Fatbearweek.org and vote for the bear you assume will likely be fattest on the finish of the week to assist it advance to the following spherical.
Watch all of the motion stay by way of the webcams on Discover.org to stand up shut and private with these beautiful beasts without having bear spray.
This article by Julia Clarke was first revealed by Advnture on 1 October 2024. Lead Picture: The 2024 Fats Bear Week Bracket Reveal has been postponed following the incident (Picture credit score: Getty Photos).
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