July 8: 128 Grazer is photographed before putting on hundreds of pounds of weight.
Naomi Boak/NPS
She didn’t need to win to prove anything. She just needed to eat hundreds of pounds of salmon so she could survive hibernation. But the bear known as 128 Grazer chomped and she romped, and now she is a Fat Bear Week champion.
“She has been putting in the work,” ranger Felicia Jimenez said as the 2023 bracket was unveiled. “She was quite dainty in early summer, but now she is huge.”
A dominant bear, 128 Grazer brooked no nonsense at Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve this summer: “For example, a large adult male, 151 Walker, regularly avoided her approach,” the park noted.
Sept. 14: 128 Grazer is well-known as a tough bear, competing for the best fishing spots. Without cubs to care for, she grew to a huge size this summer.
Naomi Boak/NPS
Grazer took care of business at the ballot box as well, trouncing rival bears at every stage of the tournament. She dispatched past champions 747 and Holly to reach the final and a faceoff with 32 Chunk, an enigmatic and immense bear. Grazer earned 108,321 votes to Chunk’s 23,134 to win her first championship.
Grazer, identified by her trademark big blonde ears, was a fan favorite coming into the competition, both for the staggering transformation she pulled off this summer and for her personal journey.
Grazer is a skilled and versatile angler, known to keep pulling in fish into the night. She has successfully raised two sets…
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