Otis Wins Alaska's Fat Bear Week Contest for the 4th Time

480 Otis has won the Fat Bear Week contest for the fourth year.

Katmai National Park and Preserve in Southwest Alaska — covering over 4 million acres of land — holds an annual contest for the brown bears in the area, historically resulting in thousands of participants voting for the winner.

From June to October, brown bears gain substantial pre-hibernation weight — adding a potential of four pounds of weight a day — and this online competition aims to “celebrate” the outcome, according to the Explore website.

When hibernation begins, the largest adult males can weigh over 1,200 pounds. 

Otis was estimated to weigh more than 900 pounds in 2019, likely leading to the 51,230 online votes that cast him as a winner.

The park tweeted on Tuesday, sharing that the 25-year-old bear had taken the title again this year, adding to his wins in 2014, 2016, and 2017.

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