National Park Service’s Fat Bear Week could take a big pause if government shuts down
Humor can be soothing in a time of crisis. That’s why wildlife fans are hoping the impending federal government shutdown won’t spell the end for the National Park Service social media phenomenon known as Fat Bear Week.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be affected as “nonessential” actions are scheduled to stop Sunday if Congress, paralyzed by a minority of hard-right Republicans, fails to reach a deal to fund the government.
In addition to widespread furloughs and disruptions to some services, another potential victim includes the tournament that puts the chunkiest brown bears of Alaska’s Katmai National Park up to an online vote, scheduled to start Oct. 4.
Launched in 2014, the event allows bear fans to cast their ballots on which rotund ursid has done the best job of filling out for winter hibernation. There’s even an online bracket, a la March Madness, as well as a “bearcam,” live chats with National Park Service staff and commentary on the bear and salmon activity.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s last-ditch effort to pass legislation to keep the government open has collapsed, making a shutdown almost certain.
But all that depends on whether Congress can send a spending bill to President Biden before midnight Sunday. If not, millions of Americans could see disruptions in food assistance programs, and agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration will be forced to furlough workers, affecting routine food inspections and visits to chemical and water treatment plants.
The vast majority of national parks will close to the public, and the park service’s websites and social media accounts will go dormant.
“The bears will continue to get fat. We will not be able to report on their progress in that regard. All of our websites will be unavailable during any period of lapse and that is another unfortunate consequence of the shutdown,” a senior administration official told CNN. “The bears are essential. Unfortunately, the folks monitoring the website aren’t exempted from appropriations.”
Fans lighted up the comments section on the Fat Bear Week website, with some strategizing about their favorites and others just gushing about the annual event, which drew more than 1 million votes from around the world last year.
Arizona and Utah will keep iconic national parks like Grand Canyon and Zion open if the federal government shuts down. California does not plan to do the same.
“This is my favorite holiday,” one wrote.
“Is there a ‘I Voted’ sticker for this year? I can’t find it,” another said.
A teacher in Texas wrote that her classroom wanted to vote for the Fat Bear Junior contest for cubs, but she was unsure about the time zone difference and didn’t want her class to miss the opportunity.
“We are a third-grade class in Texas and have been following bears since we’ve started school,” she said. “WE WANT TO VOTE!!!!!”
The bear’s stomach was clogged with human trash, including food wrappers, wipes and paper towels that kept the bear from consuming food that would have sustained the animal.
Explore, the company partnering with the National Park Service for the live cams and fan voting, said that if a shutdown affects Fat Bear Week it could postpone the tournament.
Keith Moore, lead interpretive park ranger at Katmai National Park, told ABC News that there are “plans in place” if the government shuts down, but he didn’t specify.
“I think a lot of people would be disappointed” if a shutdown affected Fat Bear Week, he said.
Other fun social media accounts that could go dark include the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which posted an unhinged hip-hop track about wearing a helmet when riding a bike.
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