Why a US national park is holding a 'Fat Bear Week' contest

Katmai National Park - a sprawling eight million acre reserve in Alaska - is poking fun at the process by again hosting their annual "Fat Bear Week". "Fat bear week started as a way to engage the public with our bears, if people are interested in the bears, they tend to want to help protect them," Ranger Russ Taylor says. It's not just Fat Bear Week that gives the Katmai bears their celebrity - some also star on an online webcam stream that has amassed thousands of fans in countries all around the world. So what makes a Fat Bear Week champion? Sheer bulk can help bears become a fan favourite, but the before and after shots posted by park staff helps showcase the most impressive gains too. "They say - oh you dated that bear on September 30 and others on September 20 so that bear has an unfair advantage!" Ranger Taylor says.

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