An elderly brown bear has been crowned the winner of Fat Bear Week, beating out 11 younger contestants to take the title as he won over fans with his tale of overcoming obstacles.
Otis, otherwise known as Bear 480 at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, took home the title of the fattest bear at the park on Tuesday, beating runner-up Walker – also known by fans as the Baron of Beardonkadonk – by more than 6,000 votes.
It is the fourth time Otis has won the competition in its seven-year history.
No information was available about Otis’ weight at the end of the competition, but fans were impressed by his #TransformationTuesday results, showing him seeming emaciated at the end of July with his rib-cage showing to a chunky brown bear by September 16.
To do so, he waited at his ‘office’ at the base of a river for salmon to pass by for him to make his move – while missing two canine teeth.
‘He came back tot he river later than average for him,’ Mike Fitz, the creator of the viral competition, told the Washington Post. ‘He was quite thin at that time, but he’s filled in nicely.
‘It’s really fun to see people’s love for Otis being expressed through the competition and through their campaign efforts.’
Otis the Bear has been crowned the winner of this year’s Fat Bear Week competition
Otis, Bear 480 at Katmai National Park, sulked along the Brooks River looking for salmon
Otis likes to wait for the sockeye salmon to come to him in his spot at the base of the river
He has become a fan-favorite over the years, and won the inaugural Fat Bear Week competition in 2014, and then again consecutively in 2016 and 2017
Fans fell in love with the photos of his transformation, from an emaciated elderly bear at the end of July to a chunky bear by September 16
Otis is described on the Explore.org website as a ‘medium-large adult male with a blocky muzzle and a floppy right ear.’
As a 25-year-old, he is one of the oldest bears that feast at Brook Falls before winter hibernation. There are an estimated 2,200 bears at the park.
He was first identified by researchers in 2001, and has garnered a loyal following with his own Facebook page, where fans post about his antics at his ‘office’ – his preferred spot to hunt for sockeye salmon in the Brooks River, where he waits for the salmon to come to him.
Even though he ‘occasionally appears to be napping or not paying attention to the fish,’ Explore.org says, Otis still succeeds in eating.
‘I like to describe Otis as a master of energy economics,’ Fitz told Mashable in 2019. ‘He uses his patience and experience to make a huge profit in calories, while expending little energy.’
Otis previously won the inaugural Fat Bear Tuesday championship in 2014, and won consecutive titles in 2016 and 2017.
And since the week-long competition began this year on September 30, Otis was the clear favorite on Internet message boards and in Facebook competitions.
He then beat out bear 812 by more than 26,000 votes in the semifinals on October 4, before going on to defeat Walker, who was described as weighing about 1,000 pounds last year, and was thought to weigh more this year.
Others that he beat out in the 12-bear competition include semi-finalists 747, dubbed ‘Bear Force One’ by fans and gained 22,532 votes this year; Bear 503, who received 22,447 votes; Cub 132, who received 22,496 votes and Bear 812, who received 18.451 votes.
Following his victory, Otis was seen munching on a celebratory salmon.
‘As we celebrate, like a true champ 480 is still chowing down,’ Katmai National Park tweeted on Tuesday.
He was first identified by researchers in 2001, and has garnered a loyal following with his own Facebook page, where fans post about his antics at his ‘office’ – his preferred spot to hunt for sockeye salmon in the Brooks River
Even though he ‘occasionally appears to be napping or not paying attention to the fish,’ Explore.org says, Otis still succeeds in catching the salmon as they pass by his ‘office’
As a 25-year-old, he is one of the oldest bears that feast at Brook Falls before winter hibernation
Otis, right, likes to wait for the salmon to come to him rather than hunt for the fish
He beat out runner-up Walker by more than 6,000 votes to gain the title
But Otis’ victory was not without controversy, with some fighting back online.
‘When Otis wins… it’s only because the sympathy vote army turned out in greater numbers,’ Leslie Jensen wrote in the Fat Bear Week Bracket Tournament Facebook group of more than 16,000 members.
‘Kind of like giving the MVP trophy to some old man at a nursing home “just because.”
Many in the group seemed to be rooting for the ‘hippo-esque’ 474, who was already hefty after he left hibernation. He was estimated to weigh more than 1,400 pounds last year, but seemed even heavier this year.
‘Unpopular opinion, but 747 deserves to beat Otis. He’s clearly fatter,’ Meredith Stratmann wrote on the Facebook group.
‘It’s not about the transformation, but the end size,’ she argued. ‘I get everyone loves Otis and he’s a fan-favorite, but he’s just not the fattest.’
Fitz seemed to agree, telling the Post: ‘He is the largest bear I’ve ever seen, and the fattest. So I think he was deserving of it.’
Still, he lost to Otis by more than 11,000 votes.
Walker, Bear 151, was this year’s runner-up, losing to Otis by more than 6,000 points
Fans have dubbed Walker the ‘Baron of Beardonkadonk.’ He is seen here eating one of the salmon
Bear 812 frequently uses rocks as a platform to catch fish and eat. He earned 18.451 votes in this year’s competition
There are an estimated 2,200 bears at Katmai National Park, including Bear 503 who earned 22,447 votes in this year’s competition. He is seen here waiting for salmon to jump out of the river
Bear 128, Grazer, was eliminated in the first round of competition
Bear 403, seen here watching the fish from the top of a waterfall, also lost in the first round of the competition
Bear 402 is the largest of the adult females at the park, but she only gained 14,026 votes this year
Bear 503 gained 22,447 votes in the tournament
‘Holly,’ Bear 435, is the mother of Spring Cub Bear 503
She would lead her cubs to the river to eat, but only gained 25,420 votes
Bear 131 got 17,706 votes. She is a teenage female bear with blonde body fur
Bear 32, Chunk, was seen sleeping in the woods in the national park on September 13
The annual competition began in 2014 to champion conservation efforts and keep places like the Katmai National Park pristine for wildlife and visitors.
In Alaska’s Bristol Bay, where the park is located, brown bears outnumber humans, according to CNN.
The competition is also seen as a way to celebrate the bears’ success in preparing for hibernation.
Male brown bears can weigh anywhere from 600 to 900 pounds, but by the time they go into hibernation, they can weigh more than 1,000 pounds. They can lose one-third of their weight in hibernation.
‘During peak season, we have bears catch 40+ salmon ( though 20 salmon is more common)’ the park wrote on its Facebook page. ‘And if you estimate each salmon has roughly 4,500 calories pre-spawned, that is a lot of food.
‘We haven’t seen bears so fat they can’t move,’ the park added, ‘but we have seen bears definitely have difficulty navigating the steep banks down the river.’
As part of the single-elimination tournament, fans vote to determine who is the fattest of the fat bears at the site. The one with the most votes wins.
This year, USA Today reports, over 793,000 votes were cast, breaking last years record of about 650,000.
It has since inspired some people to travel to Alaska to see the rivalry themselves, the Post reports, but fans could also watch the bears interact on the Explore.org bear cams.
‘I know a lot of people experience barriers to visiting national parks, even the ones that are accessible on the road system in the contiguous 48 states,’ Fitz said.
‘That’s why I think the webcams are such an important asset … to sort of bridge those barriers.’