Fat Bear Week is celebrated in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska from October 4 to 10 in 2023. The competition is between the Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) that live in that park. And all Grizzly Bears are Brown Bears. But Grizzly Bears are considered to be a separate subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis).

The bears that are here in Virginia are Black Bears (Ursus americanus) and generally weigh between 200 to 500 pounds. Brown Bears are considerably larger, averaging 500 to 900 pounds with exceptional older males possibly reaching 1,400 pounds.

I wanted to show you though, since it is Fat Bear Week, the fattest bear I’ve ever seen here. Not the largest bear, but certainly the fattest.

Whew! I’m glad the bears I have here are “little” ones!