【Swipe】

Source：Exquisite Information Network Editor：Life Time：2025-06-26 04:37:43

Imagine not eating for half a year.

For the Alaskan bears of Katmai National Park and SwipePreserve, the long winter famine always looms large. So they eat. And eat. And attempt to grow profoundly fat, because they must subsist off their fat stores for months. That's why, in this wild northern realm, a fat bear is a healthy bear.

One of the largest and most dominant bears of Katmai's Brooks River — a salmon-clogged region of the park that's livestreamed on explore.org — is bear 32, "Chunk." As a large dominant bear, he earns access to the most productive fishing spots, allowing an already large bear to grow huge.

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"By all ursine measures, Chunk has been successful. He's perhaps the largest bear at Brooks River," Mike Fitz, a former Katmai park ranger and currently a resident naturalist for explore.org, told Mashable.

Fitz estimates Chunk currently weighs 1,200 pounds. And the bear still has a strong salmon-consuming month ahead.

SEE ALSO: A violent event occurred on Alaska's fat bear livestream

A single sockeye salmon can pack around 4,000 calories. So a bear like Chunk, who repeatedly catches fish in the Brooks River, eats tens of thousands of calories per day. But on Aug. 26, Chunk outdid himself.

Avid bear cam observers, who document bear behavior throughout the summer, informed Fitz that Chunk ate a whopping 45 salmonin about 10.5 hours of fishing. Fitz has personally seen similar achievements, having watched the giant Katmai bear 747 consume 15 salmon in three hours.

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"This is direct evidence of his hard work and success in preparation for winter hibernation."

The calories in each fish Chunk consumed likely varied this late in the season, as some fish have spawned (releasing eggs into a stream bed), and some haven't. Fitz estimates each fish contained an average of 3,000 calories.

"That would mean that Chunk consumed 135,000 calories in one day," Fitz marveled. "This is direct evidence of his hard work and success in preparation for winter hibernation."

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These livestreamed cams capture an unfiltered view of bear behavior. Some of it is endearing, and sometimes it's harsh.

Chunk is often under the eye of the most watched camera, which is attached to a bear-viewing platform next to the river's waterfall. So his exploits are frequently observed. Earlier this summer, for reasons unknown, he attacked a cub that had fallen off the waterfall and passed near him in the river. In their hypercompetitive world, bears do sometimes attack each other or younger bears, but the impetus can remain uncertain.

【Swipe】

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