Iconic Fat Bear Week competition thrown into chaos after one of the contenders kills another in live-streamed brawl

A fight between two Fat Bear Week competitors brought the competition to a standstill after one bear killed the other in a gruesome televised brawl.

An adult man and woman were caught livestreaming the competition in the Brooks River estuary in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Resident naturalist for explore.orgMike Fitz, commented on the deadly altercation between the two bears.

Fitz said, “It’s often difficult to watch bears attack other bears, especially when a bear is killing another bear, so this is a difficult situation to watch.”

The commentators had no idea what started the fight, but said they did not believe it was over food resources, but rather a “domination” fight.

Bear 469 was featured on a livestream during the Fat Bear Week competition where another bear was killed

Female bear 402 was killed by another adult male bear. Although she never won the Fat Bear Week competition, she was popular for mothering eight litters of cubs

Katmai Park Ranger Sarah Bruce said: ‘He is a predator towards this female bear… We don’t know why they are fighting… [These are] two bears who are clearly not playing.”

The two bears were seen on the livestream footage of fights in the river. Adult male number 469 and adult female number 402 fought for over 20 minutes, before 402 was killed by 469.

According to Bruce, at this time of year, bears are in a state of hyperphagia, trying to eat “anything and everything they can.”

“It is unusual to see a bear chasing another bear, but it is not completely out of the question,” she added.

Bruce said it makes little sense why a bear would waste energy on a bear for food sources in this way.

The bears were briefly separated in the hope that they had retreated, until the male bear swam back and chased the female, which Fitz said was an indicator that the fight was a show of force.

The Brooks River is home to the Fat Bear Competition in Alaska, home to one of the largest salmon runs in the world

“This is just a demonstration of strength and power; it is a stark reminder of how big, strong and powerful these animals really are,” he said.

The male bear, number 469, is an easily recognizable bear with darker fur and a patch of light fur on his shoulder. The two bears were quite similar in size, Noami Boak said: “It’s pretty clear she’s fighting for her life.”

Fitz added that in these bear interactions, the submissive or subordinate bear will hope that the obviously larger or more powerful bear will back away.

It was believed 402 was overpowered and drowned by the male bear, Fitz said: “The situation we faced today was difficult to watch. We like to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and plenty of body fat, but the ferocity of bears is real. The risks they face are real. Their lives can be hard, and their deaths can be painful.”

About 10 minutes into the river fight, 402 people died before her remains were pulled ashore by 469 and pulled by his teeth before being dragged off camera.

Bruce said: ‘It’s amazing to have this unique opportunity to peek into the lives of these wild brown bears and this is the reality, that doesn’t mean it’s an easy reality to accept. It’s certainly not an easy reality to look at.”

Book added: [We can’t] Suppose a bear’s behavior resembles our behavior, then it is very different.’

Bear 128 Grazer was the 2023 Fat Bear Week competition champion and was known as a particularly defensive mother bear

The year before, the 2022 winner, who also took the 2020 title, was bear 747 weighing an estimated 1,400 pounds.

Fat Bear Week is an annual competition, now in its tenth year, that ‘celebrates the healthy appetite of brown bears’.

The competition is held in Katmai National Park and this year it will take place from October 2 to 8.

Wildlife and bear enthusiasts are invited to observe the bears in their natural habitat in Alaska, home to one of the largest salmon runs in the world, where viewers can vote for the bear they think is ‘the best example of the fatness and success of brown bears’.

In 2023, the winner of the Fat Bear Competition was a female bear named 128 Grazer, who gained a reputation as “a particularly defensive mother bear who has successfully raised two litters of cubs,” according to the Fat Bear Week website.

The year before, the 2022 winner, who also took the title in 2020, was ranked 747 after an online cheating scandal disrupted the semi-finals, according to CNN.

His online profile on Explore.org said 747 is one of the largest brown bears on Earth, possibly weighing as much as 1,400 pounds.

The league also added a Fat Bear Junior competition in 2021 with cubs competing for their own title.

Fitz announced that the unveiling of the 2024 bracket will be postponed until Tuesday at 7:00 PM eastern time.