It's Fat Beer Week! Some of the world's largest brown bears call Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska, home. They gorge themselves on fresh salmon in the fall preparing for winter hibernation.

The annual competition which started in 2014 highlight the incredible transformations of Katmai 's brown bears as they prepare for winter. This year's bracket has some returning champions like last year's champ "Chunk". 

Meet all the bear in this year's competition here.

My personal favorite is a large female identified as 910. She is the daughter of a former champion, 409 Beadnose. Her transformation photos are amazing, and she is still gaining both weight and in the competition.

After raising her cub, she has ventured out on her own to "fish where and when she wants." According to her bio, "She can fish successfully throughout much of the river including the lip of Brooks Falls. She can be recognized there by her peculiar and frequent head lifts, a quirk of movement that she does not do anywhere else." 

She is still a contender. From September 22-29 cast your vote for the chunkiest bear and see who wins the title on September 29. The single elimination matchups are open for voting are open between 12 - 9  p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pacific / 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Alaska. Vote here. 

Fat bears survive winter as bears do not eat or drink during hibernation. National Park Service (NPS) shared why it is important for bears to gain as much weight as possible before going to their dens to hibernate. "Single adult females get fat in preparation to give birth to cubs in mid winter and nurse them without eating until they exit the den in spring. Older bears get fat while trying to compete with younger bears for preferred fishing spots. Large adult male bears maintain their high rank in the hierarchy by challenging competitors. Cubs and subadult (teenage) bears grow proportionally more each year than even the biggest adults, while they learn the skills to survive. In short, Fat Bear Week is a subjective competition."

NPS has a brown bear live cam that will make your day. Check it out here.