The annual ranking of fat bears at Katmai National Park has become a popular pastime among animal lovers. Fat Bear Week, as its known, allows viewers around the world to vote for their favorite grizzlies as they stuff themselves with salmon on the Brooks River.

　　But this perennial celebration took an unexpected turn Monday when two grizzlies ended up in a fatal encounter — on live television. Explore.org partners with the National Park Service to host the annual competition, and had planned to reveal this years bear bracket during a Monday livestream.

　　Thats when a fight between two Alaskan grizzly bears resulted in one killing the other. In the below video, the bears can be seen swatting each other with their massive paws.

　　The situation that we dealt with today was difficult to witness, Mike Fitz, a resident naturalist with Explore.org, said in the live broadcast. This was supposed to be our Fat Bear Week bracket reveal. But earlier today, one bear killed another bear. We thought, Okay, we cant go ahead with our bracket reveal without addressing this situation.'

　　The 2024 Fat Bear Week bracket reveal has now been postponed until 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday. But wildlife officials and national park lovers still have plenty to say about what happened —and how to understand it.

　　Play Bears 402 and 469 The grizzly bear fight occurred near the mouth of Katmai Parks Brooks River, a protected area in Alaska that attracts some of the states biggest bears. They come to feast on the abundant salmon and add plenty of fat for a long winter hibernation.

　　Thats where an adult male known as 469 fought with an older female — a previous Fat Bear Week contestant known as Bear 402. Although the bears were about the same size, they are very different in other ways, explained Sarah Bruce, a Katmai park ranger. The mama bear killed Monday had raised eight litters and was beloved, according to Bruce and Fitz.

　　As the bears clashed in a fairly deep part of the river, its likely that Bear 402 ultimately died by drowning, they said.

　　Its the situation thats dangerous, not the bear, said Bruce. We have to take that into consideration. Its not easy Its not easy for us.

　　Bruce and Fitz discussed the possible reasons for the confrontation, which they said seemed too drawn out for a simple fight over food. All the grizzly bears in Katmai are currently in a state of hyperphagia, Fitz said, when they try to eat everything they can. Still, picking a fight with another adult bear isnt common, he added.

　　I dont know why a bear would want to expend so much energy trying to kill another bear as a food source, Fitz said. Its an uncommon thing to see a bear predating on another bear, but its not completely out of the question. So its hard to say how this started.

　　(Photo/Shutterstock) Harsh Realities of Bear Life In a press release, park officials said that national parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities. Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.

　　All votes for Fat Bear Week are cast at fatbearweek.org in a March Madness-style bracket competition. The bears compete daily in head-to-head matchups for the title of 2024 Fat Bear Week Champion. Voting takes place October 2-8, with the champion fat bear crowned on October 8.

　　This is the 10th anniversary of the event, which started in 2014 as a way to celebrate Katmai’s bears and the ecosystem where they thrive. Nearly 1.4 million votes were cast for the bears last year from over 100 countries, according to the National Park Service.

　　Park officials couldnt be reached for further comment on Tuesday morning.

　　Fat Bear Week 2022 Is Almost Here, and Feasting Action Is in Full SwingIt’s time to choose your favorite Alaska brown bears for Fat Bear Week, and celebrate the iconic animals’ yearly life cycle. Read more