Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 11 of total 11 in this topic |
HermitMaster
Social climber
my abode
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 21, 2016 - 08:48am PT
|
The second-most important election of the fall is over.
Katmai National Park named 480 Otis its 2016 Fat Bear Champion on October 18, after a week-long March Madness-style tournament that let the public vote on which of the park’s ursine residents they thought had put on the most winter weight.
In a final vote on October 17, Otis soundly clinched his second title, defeating runner-up 435 Holly in a matchup the park dubbed “the zen master” versus “the queen of bass.”
Otis’s win is something of a comeback for the male Kodiak. At 19 or 20 years old, Otis is well into his golden years (brown bears have an average lifespan of about 25 years in the wild) and has slipped down the park’s bear hierarchy as he has aged. Pictures taken of him in 2013 showed a much skinnier bear than in years past, and recently he has faced challenges from younger males seeking to occupy his preferred fishing spots on the Brooks River.
This summer, Otis mostly avoided the river’s dominant bears, instead patiently staking out an out-of-the-way pool for hours at a time.
“Bears can gain about 30% of their weight from springtime to fall,” said Ranger David Kopshever in a video posted by the park. “480 [Otis] probably pushed the maximum of that. He probably put on 30, 40, maybe even 50% of his weight gain throughout the season.”
Katmai announced Otis’s Fat Bear win as part of its Alaska Day celebrations, which commemorate the territory’s transfer from Russian to American control. While the park’s bears enter hibernation in October and November, viewers can check out Explore.org’s bear cams for a chance at catching a straggler.
http://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/katmai-crowns-its-2016-fat-bear-champion/?utm_source=newsletter01&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter01
|
|
skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 08:52am PT
|
Good for Otis!
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 09:19am PT
|
I thought you couldn't get fat eating sushi?
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 09:46am PT
|
Bears eat the most fat-rich parts of a salmon (skin, brain, and roe) first.
Brown bears in Alaska can eat 80 to 90 pounds of food per day in the summer and fall, gaining around three to six pounds of fat each day, in order to store fat for the winter.
They must dig "belly holes" when they lay down to rest.
--Mama Cass 399
I'm wonderin' if Fossil Climber has a bear story or two.
Every other shuttle driver in YV has one, so Wayne ought to.
Will he divulge? Will he give us some skinny on some fat bruin?
|
|
skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 11:40am PT
|
Salmon skin rolls mmmmmmmmm
|
|
dirtbag
climber
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 12:13pm PT
|
Beautiful bear.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 02:57pm PT
|
I bet Otis still gets the 'come hither' look from more than the odd Sheila.
|
|
nature
climber
Boulder, CO
|
|
|
Oct 21, 2016 - 03:03pm PT
|
Remind to not invite him to the next SushiFest
|
|
| Messages 1 - 11 of total 11 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!