02-08-2025
Famous brown bear Chunk has broken jaw, but he's still eating, ‘chasing ladies'
When the famous brown bear named Chunk appeared on the web cam in late June, post-hibernation, his jaw was broken and there was concern that he'd have trouble eating salmon on Alaska's Brooks River.
'Whoever Chunk rumbled with sure got him good!' Travel Guide Book exclaimed June 22 via Facebook. 'He appears to be slowly healing, getting around and he tried to eat some grass so that is a good sign.'
Chunk is among the more popular bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve, in large part because of his size and dominance at Brooks Falls, where his antics are often captured by the live cam. He's also a regular in the Fat Bear Week competition, a fan-driven event held each fall.
It's unclear how Chunk suffered a broken jaw but the injury might have occurred during a quarrel with another bear, or perhaps a moose.
in partnership with the National Park Service, maintains a series of live cams on the Brooks River. Explore posted the accompanying Instagram clip Friday, with the description: "Chunk the Hunk – broken jaw and all.'
While his jaw remains askew, Chunk certainly appears to be gaining weight.
'Is he OK? Will he heal?' one follower wondered.
Another replied, 'He's already healing, eating well and gaining weight and chasing the ladies.'
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Katmai's brown bears feast on salmon during the summer and fall, desperate to put on enough weight to sustain them through the winter.
The live cameras enable viewers to witness the bears' transformation from reasonably skinny bears (relatively speaking) to rotund behemoths that are almost literally dragging their bellies. The cameras also showcase the bears' interactions with one another.
Chunk has not won the Fat Bear Week competition, but finished second last year to a female bear named Grazer, who also won in 2023.
Sadly, one of Grazer's cubs was killed by Chunk last summer after being swept over the falls. Some Katmai fans have wondered whether it could have been Grazer who broke Chunk's jaw.
