It's Fat Bear Week. Yes, that's a thing.
Travel reporter Natalie Compton ventures to Katmai National Park to meet the chonky stars of Fat Bear Week up close. Today, we dig into this wild tradition and what it teaches us about tourism, conservation and, of course, fat bears.
Read more:
It\u2019s impressive that anyone makes it to Katmai. Getting to the motherland of fat bears requires the kind of time and money Taylor Swift fans put into attending the Eras Tour. First there are the flights to Alaska. Then a floatplane or water taxi to the park. And there\u2019s a lottery system to score one of the 16 rooms at the lodge.
Still, Natalie Compton made it \u2014 and so did a number of fat bear fanatics. Natalie talks to guest host Lillian Cunningham (host of the podcast \u201cField Trip\u201d) about the adventure.
To learn more about our National Parks, listen to \u201cField Trip.\u201d Lillian will lead you on a journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America\u2019s most awe-inspiring places. You can find all five episodes here, or look for them wherever you listen to podcasts.