'Fat Bear Week' in Alaska has started late after contender was killed by another bear

The “Fat Bear Week” competition in Alaska is kicking off late after one of the contenders was killed on camera by another competitor.

Fat Bear Week is an annual contest put on by Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska that documents the park’s brown bears as they bulk up by gorging on salmon in preparation for the upcoming winter hibernation.

It’s a single-elimination tournament that lets the public vote which bear has achieved the most impressive weight gain and this year it is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

But shocking scenes have rocked all involved after a fatal fight broke out between two bears, leaving one of them dead.

It happened between a male, named 469 (aka “Patches”), and a female, named 402, which was captured on the livestream cameras. The pair could be seen fighting by the Brooks River – after 20 minutes of fighting, the female bear died by suspected drowning.

One of the bears killed another competitor on camera / iStock

Mike Fritz from Explore.org, which hosts Fat Bear Week, said: “Earlier today, a bear killed another bear on the river. It was caught live on the webcams and we thought, well, we can’t go ahead with our Fat Bear Week bracket reveal without addressing this situation first.”

He explained it’s likely the fight began over food and that the aggression of bears should not be underestimated.

“We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and ample body fat,” he added. “But the ferocity of bears is real, the risks that they face are real, their lives can be hard, and their deaths can be painful.

“I don’t know why a bear would want to expend so much energy trying to kill another bear as a food source,” one of the park’s rangers Sarah Bruce added. “It’s an uncommon thing to see … but it’s not completely out of the question.”

The competition was due to get underway on September 30, but in light of the incident, it was pushed back until October 1. 2024’s winner will be crowned on October 8.

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