And now for something on the lighter side – Today is Fat Bear Tuesday. Your vote counts! You have until 9 PM Eastern to vote.

 Actually, this is anything but light – this is all about the fat bear. It is educational.

 This is the match up we've all been waiting for! (not really, the favorite of my daughter’s class lost in an earlier round, teaching the kids that sometime bad bears win!)

The final round of Fat Bear Week takes place today, Fat Bear Tuesday, and features a face-off between 128 'Grazer' and 32 'Chunk!' This is an educational event.  My daughter’s class has been participating throughout this entire event.

You are asked to vote for the fattest bear of the year! Please research your candidate on the website.  These bears are located at Katmai National Park in Alaska.

This is an environmental education event.  Some of the largest brown bears on Earth make their home at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Brown bears get fat to survive, and Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating their success in preparation for winter hibernation. Matchups are open for voting October 2 - 8 between 12 - 9  p.m. Eastern (9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pacific).

The students have been participating in this single elimination tournament where they voted for the bear in each match-up that they believed best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.

Have a little fun – and help my daughter’s class in their quest to have 128 Grazer Crowned Fat Bear Week Champion

From the website - Why are fat bears important?

Katmai’s brown bears are fattest in late summer and early fall. It is the end-product of a summer-long effort to satisfy their profound hunger and prepare for winter hibernation. During hibernation, bears do not eat or drink and lose one-third of their body weight. Their winter survival depends on accumulating ample fat reserves before entering the den.

To get fat, bears gorge on the richest and most accessible foods they can find. In Katmai National Park that often means salmon. Dozens of bears gather at Brooks River to feast on salmon from late June until mid October. Perhaps no other river on Earth offers bears the chance to feed on salmon for so long.

Fat bears are successful bears. They exemplify the richness of Katmai National Park and Bristol Bay, Alaska, a wild region that is home to more brown bears than people and the largest, healthiest runs of sockeye salmon left on the planet.

Go to the website and vote for 128 'Grazer'