Fat Bear Week delayed after contestant killed by rival
The start of the annual Fat Bear Week contest in the US was delayed this week after one of the potential contestants was killed by a rival.
Both bears were in contention for the 10th anniversary of the tournament pitting the heaviest bears against each other in an online vote, as they finish bulking for hibernation.
Caught on a live webcam, the brutal attack involved a male known as Bear 469 and a female called Bear 402 in a river at Alaska‘s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The bears after the fight in a river
A naturalist for explore.org, which streams footage from the park, said the male bear’s challenge appeared “predatory” – as if he was triggered “in the middle of something”.
“This is a difficult situation to witness. We love to celebrate the success of bears with full stomachs and ample body fat, but the ferocity of bears is real,” Mike Fitz added.
“The risks they face are real. Their lives can be hard and their deaths can be painful.”
The video, at around the seven-minute mark, shows the bears fighting in the river, with the female seemingly overpowered and appearing to drown, before the male drags her body to land.
After the incident, the reveal for Fat Bear Week bracket – which confirms the 12 heavyweight bears who qualified – was postponed by a day to Tuesday.
“National parks like Katmai protect not only the wonders of nature, but also the harsh realities,” park spokesperson Matt Johnson said.
“Each bear seen on the webcams is competing with others to survive.”
Meanwhile, legendary fat bear Otis – Bear 480 – is missing, according to explore.org’s TikTok feed and media reports.
Otis won the first tournament and went on to win another three to become the most decorated bear in the competition’s history.
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Fans voting in each round are encouraged to not only consider the biggest bear, but the one they believe “best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears”.
There are more than 2,000 brown bears in the preserve, with only a select few making it to the competition every year.
Reigning champion Bear 128 – known as Grazer – is already in the final eight, while fan favourite Chunk – Bear 32 – appears to be the largest this year.
Fan favourite Chunk – Bear 32 – appears to be the largest this year. Pic: National Park Service via AP
Chunk, a 20-year-old male, once ate 42 salmon within 10 hours.
More than 1.3 million votes were cast last year and voting is open until 8 October, when a champion will be crowned.
Police officers found a handgun, a silencer and a red notebook described as a “manifesto” when they arrested Luigi Mangione.
The 27-year-old was arrested in December 2024 and charged with killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City.
Mangione‘s lawyers want to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors at his eventual trial in Manhattan about statements he allegedly made and items they said police seized from his backpack during his arrest at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
The objects include a 9mm handgun prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a healthcare executive.
Mangione with his attorney. Pic: Reuters
The defence contends the items should be excluded because police did not get a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.
Prosecutors deny claims Mangione was illegally searched and questioned.
They also want to suppress some statements he made to police, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers asked him questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Last week, Mangione watched surveillance videos of the killing of Mr Thompson, 50, as he walked to a New York City hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges.
The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
This week’s hearing concerns only the state case, but Mangione’s lawyers want to bar evidence from both cases.
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In September, a judge dismissed two terrorism counts against Mangione, finding prosecutors had not presented enough evidence Mangione intended to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy.
Trial dates are yet to be set in either the state or federal cases.
Paramount has launched a £108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros, challenging Netflix, which had reached a $72bn takeover deal with the company.
Paramount said on Monday that it was going straight to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shareholders with a $30 per share in cash offer for the entirety of the company, including its Global Networks segment, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix.
On Friday Netflix struck a deal to buy WBD, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max
The agreement means Warner Bros Discovery’s library of film and TV successes including Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones will come under the same roof as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt.
But Paramount says its deal will pay $30 cash per share, representing $18 billion more in cash than its rivals are offering.
In a statement, Paramount said it was making a “strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders” and a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction”.
File pic: iStock
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.
“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.
“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process.
“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to WBD in the course of 12 weeks, but that they were never “meaningfully” engaged with.
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