Welcome toFat Bear Weekat Mashable! Each fall,Bahamas Katmai National Park holds a competition as Alaska’s brown bears finish fattening up for their long winter hibernation. This year, Mashable is getting in on the salmon-munching action. Check back with us all week as we follow the fat bear face-offs each day, and remember to get your votes in for each round. Happy fishing!
Fat bear aficionados, it's time to meet your final four.
In an upset that won't soon be forgotten, Bear 32 Chunk took down the most dominant bear at the river this summer, Bear 856. Bear 856's fat just couldn't cut it.
In Saturday's second matchup, Bear 747 -- a beloved fat bear by watchers of the river's drama -- also advanced to the final four beating out the smaller, Bear 719.
The week's mayhem has been leading to this first matchup of the final four between two big beauties of the Brooks River: Divot and Beadnose.
Divot is most known for the time she was rescued by Katmai National Park rangers after she was caught in a snare some years ago. You can still see the mark left by that snare in the form of a scar around her neck.
Beadnose is now a full-fledged internet celebrity after a photo of her sitting on the river bank in all her fat glory was shared on Twitter alongside an image of her more svelte self from earlier in the summer.
SEE ALSO: Bear hibernation is a superpower, but it comes with a cost"Fat is a sign of a successful bear and these bears need enough to survive up to six months of hibernation," Katmai wrote on its Facebook page opening up the voting.
"In this round: metabolic magician 409 Beadnose goes up against no stranger to the gallery of calories, 854 Divot. Whose salmon-sourced cellulite supersedes?"
You can vote for whichever bear you think has fattened up the most on Katmai's Facebook page by hitting the "Like" button on the bear you think is most deserving of the first spot in the final. Voting will remain open until 10:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Beadnose or Divot will then go on to face either Bear 747 or Chunk, depending on the results of their match on Monday.
While Fat Bear Week is fun and games for everyone watching, it's literally a matter of life and death for the bears themselves.
Brown bears fatten up during Alaska's summer months in order to make it through hibernation during the long, dark, and cold winters.
The fattest bears have the best chance of living off those fat stores -- built of calorie dense salmon -- and emerging relatively unscathed as the seasons change again.
The internet is talking like Kevin from 'The Office' now
Announcing Our New Web Editor by The Paris Review
Looking Back on Sam Shepard’s Dynamic Women
Notes on H.D. and Her Biographers
'Black Mirror' Season 7: 'Hotel Reverie,' explained
Seeing Reynolds Price Through His Art Collection
John Gardner’s Tangled Legacy
Priscilla: A Ghost Story
Waitin’ on the Student Debt Jubilee
On the Pleasures of Front Matter
Dyson V8 Plus cordless vacuum: $120 off at Amazon
Travel Snapshots from an Odyssey
Exit Strategy: A Letter from Belize
Chekhov On: A Case of Mania Grandiosa
'Thunderbolts*' mid
Notes from India, 1962
Harry Houdini’s Famous Film Disappears
Looking Back on Sam Shepard’s Dynamic Women
Best portable power station deal: Save 44% on the Jackery Explorer 100 v2
Purfect Prose: An Appreciation of Kitty Litterature
James Franco knows Clinton is the closest thing to a Hermione administration'The Boy Band Con' struggles to hide hatred for Lou Pearlman: ReviewPhotos of magical night buses could be proof of a parallel wizarding universeMiss Iceland drops mic after being told she's 'too fat' for beauty pageant'Game of Thrones' Season 8 will have multiple 80Channel badass female characters with these DIY Halloween costumesSlack removes more than two dozen accounts tied to hate groupsWho is this mysterious doctor behind Trump and what does he want?Facebook's News Feed changes were supposed to make us feel good. It's not working.'The Boy Band Con' struggles to hide hatred for Lou Pearlman: ReviewMost Antivirus apps on Google Play suck at detecting malwareBaby whose dad paid $40 to hold him is now charging for hugsHow Hulu's 'Shrill' revolutionizes body diversity on screenFaceTime away: Doctors ease screen time limits for childrenReddit bans violent subreddits following Christchurch terrorist attackSpotify files complaint against Apple over 'unfair' App Store rulesFaceTime away: Doctors ease screen time limits for childrenTinder says it no longer gives users desirability scoresGlobal climate strike begins, with students skipping school to protestAmazon's 'Four More Shots Please' is engrossing despite its faults Tesla reportedly delays cheaper Model Y again [April 2025] NYT Strands hints, answers for April 18 NYT Connections hints and answers for April 19: Tips to solve 'Connections' #678. NYT Strands hints, answers for April 21 'Doctor Who' breaks the fourth wall: A brief history Duolingo will now teach you how to play chess Best coffee maker deal: Get $20 off the Keurig K Best Google TV Streamer 4K deal: Save $20 at Amazon These scientists think alien life best explains what Webb just found Google rolls out Gemini Live screen sharing to all Android users Best Kindle Unlimited deal: Get 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for 99 cents NYT mini crossword answers for April 22, 2025 All the tariff NYT mini crossword answers for April 19, 2025 Ninja Blender BN701 deal: Save 25% at Amazon Best Amazon deal: Get a $5 Amazon credit when you spend $30 on home essentials Today's Hurdle hints and answers for April 21, 2025 Best earbuds deal: Take 20% off the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro at Amazon Stuff Your Kindle Day: How to get free romance books on April 22 Sex toy prices will go up because of China tariffs