Need a smile for your weekend? Take a minute to vote for the fattest bear as part of Fat Bear Week.
Katmai National Park in Alaska sponsors an annual contest where people can vote for which bear is the fattest after eating loads of salmon in preparation for hibernation. There are no criteria — just before and after photos to help influence your vote. There are even brackets and matchups, all culminating in the crowing of the Fattest Bear title.
Fat Bear Week is a perfect use of the internet. It would be hard to generate interest in conservation efforts or animal endangerment at one of the most remote places in Alaska, but people can rally around a fun contest that has no real consequence. It is brilliant — and should inspire you to think about how you can use the power of the internet to garner interest in your own organization.
Until then, you can vote every day between October 5-11and even download a bracket to see if your brown beauty is still active in the contest. Go Otis!!
