2023 Fat Bear Week has crowned its winner – a "queen that's thicker than a bowl of oatmeal"
A new queen has emerged at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska – a defensive single mama bear known for being "one of the fattest" at Brooks River. Explore.org and park officials announced Tuesday that 128 Grazer has been crowned the winner of the 2023 Fat Bear Week to join the "Hall of Chompions."
"The gutsy girl grounded the guy with a gut," Katmai National Park posted on Facebook. "The Mondo mountain of a male, 32 chunk, proved his prominent posterior was worthy of a whopping win (Chin up, Chunk). But in the end, Chunk got Grazered."
Grazer, they said, is the "bear with the biggest beardonkadonk." She received an overwhelming majority of the votes in the final round – 108,321 votes against 23,134.
"Let's crown our Queen that's thicker than a bowl of oatmeal, 128 Grazer," they added. "Long live the Queen!"
Voters have spoken LOUDLY. (You practically screamed at us.) We have our 2023 #FatBearWeek winner: 128 Grazer! 🥳The...
Posted by Katmai National Park & Preserve on Tuesday, October 10, 2023
128 Grazer went up against seven other bears to get the coveted title – including one of her own cubs, Bear 428. Fat Bear Week is held every year to celebrate the bears of Brooks River in Alaska as they finish their bulk before they go into hibernation for the winter.
And the winner of this year's contest was one for the books. According to officials, Grazer was first found in 2005 when she was just a cub. She has since emerged as "one of the best anglers" at the river, known to successfully catch fish in numerous locations.
She's also a "particularly defensive mother" who has raised two litters of cubs and is known to confront and attack other bears, even those who are much larger and more dominant than she is.
"In summer 2023, many other bears remembered her reputation and Grazer maintained a high level of dominance even though she was single," officials say in her bio. "Grazer's combination of skill and toughness makes her one of Brooks River's most formidable, successful, and adaptable bears."
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- Alaska
Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.