For its third consecutive year, the Occidental Library has hosted Fat Bear Week inspired by the National Park Service Fat Bear Week, which highlights the bears of Alaska’s Katmai National Park bulking up for hibernation. This year, 128 Grazer, an adult female known for her fearless nature, won in both the national and Occidental competitions.
Arts and Humanities Librarian Erin Sulla said she was inspired to host a competition at Occidental in 2022 as the college transitioned back to in-person learning. Sulla said she saw an opportunity to host a college-wide Fat Bear Week after seeing an empty spot in the library’s lobby and thinking that students would enjoy a campus Fat Bear Week because she personally enjoyed the national event.
“We have this corner and this TV and nothing is going on — what if we turned on the cams and had [a] competition?” Sulla said.
Sulla said that after approving her plan with the other staff, she put up a whiteboard with pictures of each bear and that students loved it. Sulla said this year, she was inspired to build on its initial success and upped the stakes with a ballot box competition where students would win prizes. Sulla said Fat Bear Week 2024 has been its most popular year.
“We really wanted to ramp it up because we heard murmurings that a lot of people liked it,” Sulla said. “We tried to promote it a bit more […] so it’s been successful!”
According to Sulla, the fat bears win the competition by getting the highest number of votes. Sulla said that students are randomly selected from their votes in the ballot box to win stickers, water bottles and beanies. Arabella Estes (junior) said they were drawn into the competition by the prizes.
“I like free raffles and stuff,” Estes said. “I don’t have any objections to bears. I’d say I’m pro-bear. Nothing crazy there.”
Estes said they have won two years in a row, but their success remains a mystery even to themself. According to Estes, they randomly select the bear they vote for.
“Each time, I’ve only entered one time,” Estes said.
According to Sulla, besides fun prizes and the spirit of competition, Fat Bear Week provides a much-needed break during the stressful activities of the season. Sulla said the week falls amidst midterms and often right before a political election.
“It’s nice to get a break from a lot of things that are happening around the world and just be like, ‘Yay bears!’” Sulla said.
Sulla said the competition also encourages students to learn about why bears are fat and why it is good for them. Professor of Biology Joseph Schultz said that seeing all of the fat bears in the competition is a good sign, because it means they have the necessary energy stored away for hibernation.
“Bears do a lot of what’s called beta-oxidation, where they break down fats so that they can use that energy to survive the long winters,” Schulz said.
According to Schulz, bears exert very low energy for a prolonged period of time and do not feed during hibernation. He said that in order to support that lifestyle, bears need to fatten up.
“It is especially important for females who are pregnant with cubs,” Schulz said. “When you are thinking about supporting your young, then you really want to be a fat bear.”
According to Sulla, being aware of bears and the importance of food sources are significant for conservation efforts. Sulla said that the Katmai Conservancy raises money for bears and has a large concentration of brown bears with one of the last great salmon runs on earth. Sulla said that this year, the library has promoted further learning by putting out bear-related books next to the bracket.
“There are many different angles for someone interested in the bears,” Sulla said. “Maybe you’re interested [in] conservation or endangered species, about climate change, about different ideas of science or different ideas about nature.”
Sulla said that Fat Bear Week is a great opportunity to have fun while getting a little more connected to nature.
“What I like about it is that it is open to everybody,” Sulla said. “I like to see it as a little celebration. For bears, fat is good, and it also makes us think of how fat is survival and fat is important. I like that message as well.”
Contact Ginny Tomlinson at gtomlinson@oxy.edu
