Fat Bear Week: Public Participation and Environmental Awareness

Earlier this week, I found myself scrolling through TikTok and I saw a video from @exploreorg about Fat Bear Week, along with some videos of the bears competing. This immediately caught my attention. Since 2014, the public has been voting on which bear living at Brooks River in Katmai National Park in Alaska will be the fattest while preparing for a long winter, in an event called Fat Bear Week. This year, Fat Bear week is from September 29th to October 5th, with bear-to-bear showdowns until the fattest bear is crowned champion. 

Naturally, I became a little obsessed, as did thousands of people like me across the country. These bears are really cute, and judging by their physique, they are very successful hunters. That’s why this event is such an amazing idea: with all of the bad news about the environment recently, it made me happy to have fun with nature’s successes instead of failures. As people see these seemingly happy bears living by a pretty stream, they create a positive association with the bears and environment, setting the stage for education and conservation. 

Education is what explore.org does well, seeing as there are sections on the lives and habits of bears on the main page dedicated to Fat Bear Week. Within this part of the page, information about the location of these bears is given too, further raising awareness of this vital land for conservation. Arguably, the most important way they share their knowledge about bears and hibernation with the world is through their Fat Bear Week in the Classroom Google form, where resources for children are supplied and questions can be submitted. One day, the elementary school children of today are going to inherit the Earth, and they should care about the environment as much as they can. By starting education young with an eye-catching topic, a love for animals and conservation can be instilled in children to protect the world in the long run. 

This program not only benefits the bears in Alaska, but wildlife everywhere. By demonstrating to the public that successful animals living in the wild are adorable and amusing from afar, they will better understand that wildlife should be left to be wildlife. there are plenty of ways to engage with the bears, by learning about them in the Meet the Bears section of the website, or the livestreams of the river they call home. When given the proper habitat, these bears can thrive. From there, it isn’t difficult to make the connection that protecting habitats and food sources is important. Again, education is so important in ensuring the future of these animals that a fun activity about bears becomes a tool for protecting more wildlife. As the average viewer learns about wildlife in its natural state, they can extend the information learned about conservation to anywhere in the world.

Although this is an important educational tool, it’s also alright to just have some fun. There is so much happening in the world today, and much of it is harsh and discouraging about the future. Sometimes looking at fat bears and participating in a fun competition can just be looking at fat bears and participating in a fun competition if that’s what you need. It’s more important that, when a person learns and advocates for the environment, their contributions are quality. A smaller amount of meaningful advocacy carries more weight than a large amount  of empty advocacy. Fat Bear Week is special because the bears are cute and because they lead to increased awareness of the environment to a broader audience.

Brooke Baggett is a senior at Plano East Senior High in Plano, Texas. She is a student in the International Baccalaureate program and has been involved in National Honor Society, varsity and show choirs, and Learncast. She likes reading, birds, and the environment.