Katmai National Park is home to thousands of brown bears, many of whom become quite famous through the explore.org live cameras and the amazing “Fat Bear Week” that occurs every year.
Sadly, as is the way of life, some of those bears will loose their lives over the years. Some from old age, some from accidents, some for reasons we may never know. Bear 480 Otis gained popularity over the years, first identified in 2001. This year he failed to make an appearance.
That doens’t guarantee that he’s gone, but explore.org has put together a little video to remember the iconic bear nonetheless, taking us through his best moments over the many years.
We didn’t see beloved Otis this year. As the year comes to a close, lets look back at the King of Katmai. We started with the earliest photo we could find of him, which was in 2002. And end in 2023.