Fat Bear Junior: Meet the cubs competing in this year's contest!
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It's that time of the year again - Fat Bear Week is fast approaching!
It's a contest held every year which celebrates the furry residents living in Alaska's Katmai National Park in the US.
People are given the opportunity to vote for which bear they think has put on the most weight as the animals get ready to hibernate during the winter.
This competition runs from 29 September to 5 October this year, but there's also an additional twist - the organisers have expanded the contest to include a bracket for bear cubs!
The Fat Bear Junior competition will see audiences vote for their favourite bear cub on 23 and 24 September and the winner will go through to the famous adult contest where they'll compete for the top prize.
Four bears have been chosen to take part in this year's junior competition and each has has made an impressive transformation in preparation for the colder months.
Meet the candidates - Spring Cub 132, Spring Cub 909, Yearling 128 and Yearling 435!
The weight brown bears put on before the colder months may seem drastic, but it's actually for a very important reason!
Every winter, the animals settle down in their dens where they hibernate for months.
Hibernation is when animals spend colder months in a 'dormant state'. Their normal physical functions are suspended or slowed down - a bit like being in a deep sleep.
It's a way for animals to reduce the amount of energy they use - and therefore the amount of food they need - during the coldest seasons.
During hibernation, bears don't eat or drink any food or liquid and they can lose up to a third of their weight. Having enough fat reserves helps them survive the winter; so they need to eat lots of food before hibernation.
Which bear do you think should win this year's Fat Bear Junior contest? Let us know in the comments!
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