The people have spoken!
A new champ has emerged as the champion of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve’s annual fat bear competition.
“Fat Bear Week” highlights the remarkable weight changes Alaska’s brown bears can go through during hibernation.
The bears are already considered the largest brown bears in the world and they can nearly double in size during hibernation.
And it’s no wonder after scarfing down 90 pounds of food a day.
This year’s winner is…(drumroll please)…
Bear number 435, better known as Holly.
The park says online voters picked her to be this year’s fat bear week champion.
Holly is considered one of the most recognizable bears to use the Brooks River.
The mama bear beat out more than a dozen other bears to take on this year’s crown.
Park officials say this year’s competition was a huge success with a record 187,000 votes cast, more than three times more than last year.
They say while fat bear week is a fun event, it is also used to build awareness of the natural process and the need to conserve the unique wilderness area of the Brooks River.
The Closed Caption version of this video can be found here:
https://sign1news.com/2019/10/10/sign1news-10-10-19/
Sign1News is the first and only digital network, partnered with world news leader CNN, to offer on-line news and information in American Sign Language. Sign1News provides equal access to local, regional and national news and information to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community via a daily post-produced broadcast. Sign1News: Your Life. Your Language.