A deadly attack shakes up the bracket reveal for 2024's Fat Bear Week contest
CTV
The bracket for 2024's Fat Bear Week contest was revealed Tuesday night, but only after a deadly bear-on-bear attack at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve on Monday delayed the unveiling.
The bracket for 2024’s Fat Bear Week contest was revealed Tuesday night, but only after a deadly bear-on-bear attack at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve on Monday delayed the unveiling.
In what’s become a bona fide fall ritual, public voting in the annual Fat Bear contest is scheduled to start at noon ET Wednesday. The popular contest is observing its 10th anniversary this year – but comes with a stark reminder that the harsh laws of nature are always in play in the southern Alaskan wilderness at Katmai.
Members of the public will get to weigh in on their favourite bear contestants online, and voting will continue through October 8. A winner is slated to be announced that evening as well.
Katmai said on its website that almost 1.4 million votes were cast for the bears from more than 100 countries in the 2023 contest, which was won by a defensive mama bear named 128 Grazer.
Anyone who has ever joined a March Madness betting pool for the NCAA basketball tournament will be familiar with the contest’s brackets-style competition.
In this single-elimination format, the bears vie for votes daily in head-to-head matchups. The bear collecting the most online votes advances to the next round.
Ready to vote for your favorite fattened bear? Cast your vote at fatbearweek.org.
