5 Crazy Fat Bear Week Videos

It's become an internet phenomenon and to get you pumped, here are 5 crazy Fat Bear Week videos. The annual event kicks off today (9/23) and runs through September 30.

Millions of people from around the world tune into a livestream from Katmai National Park's Brooks Falls in Alaska to watch the bears and cast votes. Brooks Falls is a famous site for salmon spawning. They fly through the air as they try to clear the falls and swim upstream to lay their eggs.

It's also where the bears stand, paws ready and mouths open for a meal.

The bears need to fatten up for winter hibernation. Some will pack on as much as 500 pounds and these vulnerable salmon help do the trick.

The fun began as a one-day virtual tournament in 2014 with park rangers posting photos of certain bears throughout the year showing their winter weight gain. It has since grown to a weeklong, bracket-style competition where you can cast votes in several categories.

See all of the happenings at Brooks Falls in real time thanks to Explore.org's livestream. 

All of the videos here were taken from my social media feed. You don't need to have your own account to view them. Just scroll down and watch them unfold here for TikTok Tuesday.

If you're still not sure what all of this fat bear stuff is about, this is a good overview. A reporter narrates the video to give you a full report as you continue to scroll and watch the other videos. Nature, doing its thing.

It's not as easy as easy as you might suspect. Or as easy as some bears make it look. Then there is the effort these fish go through to try and make it up the falls only to get gobbled up. Fascinating to watch these on the live stream too.

While bears are the stars this week, it doesn't seem right not to mention their prey. Look at all of these fish trying to get upstream and lay their eggs. Amazing annual phenomena. Are you routing for the fish or the bears?

Oh my goodness. This is how big these guys get for hibernation. It's quite a transformation from when you first see them feeding upstream. Make sure you check out the photos in the brackets.

So, these guys don't have to fight for their food. They live at a habitat. But I loved this video none-the-less. This fat bear looks so happy splashing around. Made me smile so I wanted to pass it on to you too.