Thousands of fraudulent votes for Sunday’s winner were discovered by organizers, leading to accusations of cheating in the Fat Bear Week tournament.
The election results between Bear 747 and his rival Holly were reversed by the Katmai National Park, which holds a bracket-style competition for bears captured in the Alaskan park.
After more than 7,000 fake votes were disqualified, Bear 747 defeated Holly with 37,940 votes to 30,430.
The park stated, “[Holly] missed her connection as jumbo flight 747 cleared the runway after being stopped by TSA for smuggling fish.” This large cargo ship “sailed to the finals with a glorious tailwind.”
Twitter user Liz St Clair made reference to the January 6 riots, which were sparked by unsubstantiated rumors that the presidential election had been rigged, writing: “NOOOOoooooo I was so thrilled when I saw Holly was ahead.” On January 6, I feel like taking over the national parks.
Careful.’ was tweeted by HottenAnnie, another Twitter user who joined in on the prank. People physically invading the park is not what we want.
Others used the catchphrases “STOP THE STEAL” and “STOP THE COUNT,” which was used by former President Donald Trump in his defeat to Joe Biden.
Bear 747 will go in the finals and compete against the champion of Monday’s election thanks to his recent triumph.
Between late June and mid-September, the bear, who was thought to weigh around 1,400 pounds, was seen fishing at Brooks Falls every day as he got ready to hibernate.
In spite of bears’ propensity to battle for dominance, national park rangers reported that 747 was one of the forest’s most dominating bears and maintained his position “by sheer size alone.”
The bear previously took first place in the 2020 Fat Bear Week contest.