Alaska

In Alaska’s Fat Bear Week, there’s no party like a salmon party

Published

2 years ago

October 4, 2022

In Alaska’s Fat Bear Week, there’s no party like a salmon party

Fats Bear contestant 128 Grazer is roughly 17-19 years previous. She has a light-weight coat within the spring that darkens within the fall, however she retains her distinctive fluffy blonde ears.

Lian Legislation / NPS Picture

In some ways, it’s a mannequin election. The marketing campaign runs for just one week, and all of the candidates are well-grounded and devoid of hypocrisy.

In truth, all of the candidates are enthusiastically out for themselves — as a result of they’re bears, in spite of everything, embracing the ursine urge to eat like there is no tomorrow and fortify themselves for winter hibernation.

Fats Bear Week formally begins on Wednesday, celebrating the laborious work bears do to outlive, and giving all the remainder of us a motive to gawk at huge animals and spawning salmon of their dwelling in Katmai Nationwide Park in Alaska.

How Fats Bear Week works

The 12 brown bears are positioned right into a bracket, the place voters resolve who ought to advance from every matchup. Voting opens every day at 12 p.m. ET, operating from Oct. 5 by means of Oct. 11.

The competition highlights the superb transformation bears should make after they emerge from hibernation, emaciated and hungry. From the center of summer season to the autumn, a median male grownup can go from weighing 600-900 kilos to nicely over 1,000 kilos, in keeping with the Katmai web site.

Contestants are tracked by their numbers, however veteran animals are identified by names like the big male Chunk, or the blond-eared feminine Holly. Then there’s 747 — who would not want a nickname as a result of his quantity and dimension each echo the well-known jumbo jet.

This 12 months’s defending champ, Otis, additionally received the primary Fats Bear contest eight years in the past.

Followers usually observe their favourite bears on webcams within the park, watching as they attempt to extract sockeye salmon from rapids and waterfalls alongside the Brooks River.

It helps to be an enormous bear with an enormous character

Whereas the competitors favors girth, bears usually develop into sentimental favorites, thanks to private tales specialists have gleaned from years of remark.

Take Holly, aka 435, who has guided a number of cubs on troublesome paths to turning into profitable adults — together with 503, whom she adopted after he was left alone as a yearling cub.

Fat Bear candidate 435 Holly is in her mid to late 20s, making her one of the older bears to use Brooks River. She has a light-colored coat reminiscent of a toasted marshmallow, and is known for adopting several orphaned cubs. — Fats Bear candidate 435 Holly is in her mid to late 20s, making her one of many older bears to make use of Brooks River. She has a light-colored coat paying homage to a toasted marshmallow, and is understood for adopting a number of orphaned cubs.
*E. Johnston / NPS Picture*
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“A bachelorette’s life this summer season afforded her the chance to focus on her personal wants,” in keeping with the Fats Bear Week web site at Discover.org.

Feminine grownup brown bears normally weigh a couple of third lower than males.

In the event you want bear evaluation, park workers and naturalist Mike Fitz of Discover.org just lately mentioned the 2022 area in a video.

Who you bought in 2022?

Whereas incumbents usually take pleasure in a bonus, rebel newcomers add spice to this 12 months’s combine.

One of many youngest bears within the bracket is a feminine subadult dubbed 335, who’s Holly’s daughter.

“Subadults are primarily the youngsters of the bear world,” from round 2 and a half to five years previous, Katmai Park Ranger Lian Legislation mentioned, describing how they’re blocked from the perfect fishing spots and be taught to dwell away from their moms for the primary time.

As that narrative suggests, the bears’ backstories are a good way for the park to coach the general public in regards to the wide selection of bear behaviors, from their fishing and survival methods to how they work together with different animals.

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Alaska

80 mph, 90 mph and higher: Here’s a rundown of peak gusts recorded across Southcentral Alaska in Sunday’s storm

Published

9 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Press Room

80 mph, 90 mph and higher: Here’s a rundown of peak gusts recorded across Southcentral Alaska in Sunday’s storm

By Anchorage Daily News

Updated: 2 hours ago Published: 3 hours ago

A downed spruce tree partially hangs over Lake Otis Parkway during the windstorm on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Here’s a list of peak wind gusts measured at various locations by the National Weather Service across Southcentral Alaska in Sunday’s storm. Crews were working Sunday evening to restore electricity to thousands of people in Anchorage and the Mat-Su.

Gusts of more than 60 mph were recorded at various locations across the region, with gusts exceeding 80 mph at several locations on the Anchorage Hillside and higher elevations.

High winds, rain batter Anchorage and Mat-Su, with power outages reported across region

The readings were collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures, the weather service noted. Not all data listed are considered official, the weather service said. See the full list here.

Anchorage

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport: 62 mph

Merrill Field: 66 mph

Lake Hood: 59 mph

JBER – Elmendorf: 69 mph

JBER – Fort Richardson: 73 mph

Northeast Anchorage: 75 mph

South Anchorage: 75 mph

Glen Alps: 84 mph

Potter Valley: 91 mph

Bear Valley: 110 mph*

Arctic Valley: 107 mph*

Glenn Hwy Eagle River Bridge: 88 mph

Glenn Hwy S Curves: 62 mph

South Fork Eagle River: 86 mph

Birchwood Airport: 53 mph

Bird Point: 75 mph

Alyeska Weather Station: 112 mph

Alyeska Summit: 99 mph

Portage Glacier: 84 mph

Matanuska Valley

Palmer Airport: 67 mph

Wasilla Airport: 47 mph

Fishhook: 47 mph

Duck Flats: 6 mph

Susitna Valley

Willow: 36 mph

Eastern Kenai Peninsula

Seward Airport: 51 mph

Kenai Lake: 33 mph

Granite Creek: 25 mph

Seward / Sterling Hwys (Y): 42 mph

Whittier Airport: 60 mph*

Western Kenai Peninsula

Kenai Airport: 53 mph

Soldotna Airport: 39 mph

Kenai Beach: 46 mph

Sterling Highway at Jean Lake: 64 mph

Nikiski: 36 mph

Anchor Point: 31 mph

Homer Airport: 46 mph

Homer Boat Harbor: 42 mph

Seldovia Airport: 41 mph

Eastern Prince William Sound

Cordova Airport: 73 mph

Cordova Marine Ferry Terminal: 74 mph

Valdez Airport: 25 mph

Valdez Port: 23 mph

Thompson Pass: 47 mph

Copper River Basin

Gulkana Airport: 56 mph

Chitina: 37 mph

Denali Hwy at MacLaren River: 38 mph

Eureka: 36 mph

Kodiak Island

Kodiak Airport: 52 mph

Kodiak – Pasagshak Road: 61 mph

Akhiok: 45 mph

*Denotes site stopped transmitting wind data following report of highest wind gust.

“Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.”

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Alaska

Alaska Airlines faces heat after UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gets removed from flight: 'Shame on you'

Published

20 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Alaska Airlines faces heat after UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gets removed from flight: 'Shame on you'

Alaska Airlines is getting called out on social media after a clip surfaced showing a famous UFC fighter get into a dispute on-board until he was escorted off his flight. The video shows Russian hall of fame athlete Khabib Nurmgomedov debating airline staff in the U.S. while he was sitting in the exit row on the plane.

The video of the incident, which reportedly took place at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday, shows an employee telling the 36-year-old mixed martial artist he either has to switch seats or get off the plane. “They’re not comfortable with you sitting in the exit row,” the worker added.

“It’s not fair,” said Nurmgomedov, who was reportedly flying to Los Angeles, to which the worker replied, “It is fair. Yes, it is.”

Nurmgomedov explained that when he was checking in for the flight, he was asked he if knew English, to which he said he did. The airline worker responded, “I understand that, but it’s also off of their judgement. I’m not going to do this back-and-forth. I will call a supervisor.”

The employee reiterated the athlete could either take a different seat on the plane, or staff could “go ahead and escort” him off the flight. She asked “which one are we doing?” and then replied to Nurmgomedov saying they were going to have to rebook him on a different flight.

Across social media, people have been calling out Alaska Airlines asking why they had him removed from the plane. Many called for others to boycott the airline, and some claimed the staff were profiling Nurmgomedov, who is Muslim.

“Why did you remove Khabib from your plane? His fans need to know! I hope he sues you,” an Instagram user wrote on the airline’s most recent post.

“Are you aware of who Khabib is? His legacy surpasses that of the entire airline,” another chimed in.

“Shame on you, Alaska Airline. We all boycotting them,” a TikTok user added.

“What is the reason!? Because they don’t feel comfortable he’s sitting by a window?” another questioned.

Neither Nurmgomedov or Alaska Airlines have yet commented on the situation.

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Alaska

Experts recommend preparing in case of Southcentral power outages as storm approaches

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Experts recommend preparing in case of Southcentral power outages as storm approaches

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – With a storm approaching and high winds in the forecast for a portion of Southcentral Alaska, experts recommend preparing for potential power outages and taking safety precautions.

Experts with the State of Alaska, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management recommended taking the initiative early in case of power outages due to strong weather.

Julie Hasquet with Chugach Electric in Anchorage said Saturday the utility company has 24/7 operators in case of outages.

“We watch the weather forecast, and absolutely, if there are power outages, we will send crews out into the field to respond,” Hasquet said.

She echoed others, saying it’s best to prepare prior to a storm and not need supplies rather than the other way around.

“With the winds that are forecast for tonight and perhaps into Sunday, people should just be ready that it could be some challenging times, and to be aware and cautious and kind of have your radar up,” Hasquet said.

For the latest weather updates and alerts, download the Alaska’s Weather Source app.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

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