Bear-On-Bear Murder Forces Fat Bear Week To Postpone

A grisly murder has led to Alaska’s annual Fat Bear Week being postponed.

The battle to be the plumpest predator was delayed after a younger male brown bear killed an older female while hunting for salmon on Monday morning.

The violent death of the matriarch known as 402 was captured on a livestream from Katmai National Park and Preserve, which serves as a prime feeding spot for animals hoping to pack on as many pre-hibernation pounds as possible before winter.

Viewers watched as 402 and her assailant, 469, ferociously sparred until she was overpowered and sunk into the waters of the Brooks River.

469, whose distinctive blond mark on his shoulder earned him the nickname “Patches,” then began eating his fallen adversary, later dragging her lifeless body out of the camera’s view.

While Katmai ranger Sarah Bruce told The Washington Post she was unsure what exactly caused Monday’s carnage, she said, “It’s not unusual for bears to eat one another if the opportunity arises.”

Both 402 and Patches had been familiar to Katmai rangers for more than 20 years, but only 402 had ever been in the running for fat bear supreme.

A description of 402 posted during last year’s competition called the massive matriarch a “killer angler” and “the mother of at least eight litters, more than any other bear currently at Brooks River,” noting that she had also lost entire litters of cubs.

“Her life illustrates the triumphs and difficulties of a long-lived mother bear,” the description read.

Patches was given the unofficial sobriquet “Digger” by bear-watchers in 2012 after he was sighted guarding an unidentified bear’s remains.

Experts were unsure whether 469 was responsible for that animal’s death, however.

Officials for Katmai National Park acknowledged the brutal truth of bear-on-bear violence in a statement on Monday: “National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities. Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.”

Fat Bear Week began in 2014, inviting the internet to vote on which Brooks River bear had been the best at bulking that season.

Around 1.4 million votes were cast during Fat Bear Week last year, and more than 10 million people tuned in to Katmai’s livestream, according to the Post.

In 2023, The Associated Press called the competition “Alaska’s most-watched popularity contest.”

This year’s 12-bear bracket will be announced Tuesday night.