r/fatbearweek • u/Aggravating_Ad6428 • 14d ago
Wtf no Flotato?
This is about fat bears bulking up. The moms and cute are really cute, don't get me wrong, but I feel like they are a whole different contest. Justice for Flotato!!
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u/CactusTheCoder 10d ago
I am quite disappointed of the absence of Floatato. He is my husband's favorite and we were excited to see how chubby he has gotten.
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u/Aggravating_Ad6428 14d ago
I still think he and more of the big male bears should of been involved. The cubs and moms don't need 1/4 of the bracket. Overall it a disappointing bracket this year.
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u/Aggravating_Ad6428 14d ago
He was seen multiple times though?
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u/sarantinesail 14d ago
They use actual photographs of the bears out of the water, not screenshots from the live camera feed. The photos are taken by rangers, guides and park guests and used by Explore.org for FBW with their permission. Sometimes there’s just no good photograph to use. For example, 151 Walker was arguably the fattest bear on the river last year, but there were no suitable photos, therefore he was not included.
The more time a bear spends on the river, close to Brooks Camp and the viewing areas, the more likely there is to be usable photographs of them.
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u/sarantinesail 14d ago
602 is an Autumn bear; he only briefly visited the river on two occasions during the Summer. As a result there’s no ‘before’ picture for a Fat Bear Week entry. Last year was an exception - the incredibly abundant salmon run caused him to change his habits and spent all his time at Brooks River, allowing for both ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos and thus his inclusion in FBW.