This bear looks how we feel during quarantine.
As the days get shorter and colder, many animals are gearing up either for breeding season or a long winter's nap. The latter is the case for most bears, but especially in Alaska where the winters are hard and extremely cold. A favorite place for the bruins to fatten up is Katmai National Park's Brooks Falls.
This is the place that is featured in every nature show ever. It's the spot where hungry bears flock to intercept the salmon runs and gorge themselves before heading into hibernation. Some bears end up gorging themselves more than others.
The bear in this video is an extreme example of that. Try not to laugh as this gargantuan bruin gets a good back scratch on a tree while sporting a massive gut that will make anyone with a beer belly feel skinny by comparison!
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This bear is totally in shape. Round IS a shape!
In all seriousness, we know some of you may think this is an over-fed zoo animal, but this bear is very wild. In fact, this bear is in great condition according to the National Park Service! Bears do not eat during hibernation and he will burn through all that fat during the long winter months. Any bruin that puts on this much weight has a great chance to survive.
This video is a couple years old, but this bruin is famous. He's more affectionately known as "747," for obvious reasons. Last year it was estimated that Bear 747 may have tipped the scales at as much as 1,400 pounds!
In case you were wondering, 747 is just as large this year. In fact, officials estimated a month ago that he had enough fat stores to go the next six months without eating! Think of that the next time you feel like you're over-eating. We'll admit we put on some weight during 2020's Covid-19 quarantines, but somehow this bruin's giant gut makes us feel a little better about a few extra pounds.
Katmai's fat bears have become a popular tourist attraction and have even led to the creation of #FatBearWeek in which fans can vote for the fattest bear of the year. We love it.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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