King Salmon, Alaska – Which big brown bear boasts the most fabulous fatness of them all? The ninth annual Fat Bear Week begins Wednesday, and we’ve got the scoop on the corpulent competitors of Brooks River.

Rangers from Katmai National Park and Preserve, the Katmai Conservancy, and Explore.org created Fat Bear Week to raise awareness about the efforts bears put into bulking up to survive the winter. It has become a cherished yearly event across the world and the internet.

The adorable single-elimination tournament is in its ninth year, and the Explore.org staff and park rangers revealed the chubby competitors Monday night.

The 2023 entries are all chokers with great stories. Some are old favorites, like the 2022 defending champ Bear 747, while others are newcomers to the battle of the biggest and fattest.

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Which bear exemplifies the most magnificent transformation from skinny to rotund?

This year’s Fat Bear Week tournament runs from October 4 to October 10. Each day during the competition, you can cast your vote on the Fat Bear Week website in a new battle to keep your favorite bear in the running to be crowned champion.

The first bulky battles begin on Wednesday and are between Bear 806 Jr., a spring cub that has packed on the pounds, and Bear 428, a subadult female new to the chubby contest.

Aficionados of plump bears can also vote to choose the winner in the battle between experienced mama bear 402 and new mama bear 901 on Wednesday.

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This year's competitors include old favorites and new fuzzy faces, like the most decorated winner of them all, 480 Otis, a 28-year-old bear that has won the competition four times.

Also in this year's smackdown are 151 Walker and 128 Grazer, as well as two new bears to Fat Bear Week: 164 Bucky Dent, named by fans because of a tuft of hair between his eyebrows, and 284 Electra. There's also former winner 435 Holly, whom fans have described as a "toasted marshmallow."

Last but not least, 32 Chunk, a bear Katmai Ranger Naomi Boak describes as the "lightbulb-shaped Leviathan," is also in the running.

Fat Bear Week calls attention to these mammals' magnificent transformations that are the key to their survival.

If you're invested in the fabulous fatness, you can see before and after pics of this year's bulky battlers and read their stories on the Meet the Bears webpage.

May the most fabulous fat bear win! Don't forget to cast your vote.