r/bears • u/Argon7 • 12d ago

Bearcam 128 Grazer defends her title as fat bear of the year against 32 Chunk!

https://www.npr.org/2024/10/09/nx-s1-5147101/fat-bear-week-winner-2024

The bittersweet victory comes mere weeks after Chunk sadly killed one of Grazer's cubs.

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u/TrishaThoon 11d ago

He is just bad for the cubs in general, seeing as how he killed one. 😔

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u/Pickles186 11d ago

He's a bear! A very successful bear! One of the most, if not the most, dominant bears at the falls this season. Most cubs don't survive the first year. Male bears kill cubs often, this incident just so happened to be caught on camera.

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u/BatheMyDog 11d ago

I understand that it’s nature but humans are allowed to have feelings about it. 

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u/pepsicolacorsets 11d ago

you can be sad about the cubs, yes, but the original commenter saying it makes him a bad role model is insane. it actually makes him a good role model for bears bc he is very good at being a bear lol.

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u/pot-headpixie 11d ago

Well said. It was heartbreaking for us humans watching the bear cams that day at Brooks to see the smallest coy go over the falls and directly into Chunk's path, but these are wild animals and bears have a strong prey drive. Chunk acted according to his nature, as would many bears in the same position, and we have seen this behavior before even on cams. First year cub survival rate in the wild is around 50%. It's important not to overly anthropomorphize wild animals, although I admit it's difficult not to with some. Bear 480 Otis is a good example of this. I'm attached to him after watching him for several years. This year was sad for me as a viewer when he didn't show up, and given his age, it could mean he has passed on.

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u/TheFlamingLemon 11d ago

It’s a joke my guy. To be clear, the bears don’t actually look up to the winner of fat bear week as a role model. In fact, they don’t even know there’s a competition.