'Fat' and 'fabulous' 435 Holly wins Fat Bear Week 2019
All hail this year’s "Queen of Corpulence."
A national park in Alaska declared 435 Holly the winner of its 2019 Fat Bear Week competition on Tuesday.
"She is fat. She is fabulous," the Katmai National Park & Preserve wrote on Facebook.
435 Holly beat out 11 other burly bears for the crown.
Naomi Boak, a spokeswoman for Katmai Conservancy, told ABC News that 435 Holly, like all bears, went into hyperphagia before hibernation, where it's impossible for her to feel full.
"So they eat any and everything," Boak said.
In photos from July, 435 Holly touted a slimmer figure but she managed to beautifully pack on the pounds for hibernation and dominate the competition.
The public votes online in the annual contest to name the fattest and baddest bear of the state’s Brook River.
Katmai called it a "March Madness-style competition."
During hibernation, which can last for up to half a year, a bear can lose one third of its body mass, making the weight a bear gains before all the more important.
"There is no shame in winning this contest as large amounts of body fat in brown bears is indicative of good health and strong chances of survival," the park said in a statement.
Boak echoed that notion, saying the contest brings to light "how hard these guys work to make a living so that they can survive long into hibernation where there is no food available."
Bears in Katmai are among the largest in the world, according to the park. Adult males typically weight 600-900 pounds before hibernation, but clock in at well over 1,000 pounds as hibernation begins. Adult females usually weigh about one third less than adult males.
