It's that marvelous time of year when the internet gets to vote for its favorite stuffed bear – the wild kind.

Fat Bear Week is officially upon us, and the competition this fall is fierce.

To qualify , Alaska's brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) must be spotted catching sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) on the Brooks River in the late summer and early autumn.

To win, they must capture the world's love and admiration with their enormous behinds.

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The weeklong, single-elimination tournament, run by Katmai National Park, is designed to crown the bear that " exemplifies fatness and success " best.

From late June onward, these bootylicious predators have been feasting on sockeye, and they w

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