Famous brown bear 'Chunk' given the slip during courtship attempt

Footage shows the female bear taking an extreme measure to avoid contact with the larger bear at Brooks Falls in Alaska.

A bear-cam in Alaska’s Katmai National Park on Monday captured an amusing scene involving a brown bear named Chunk putting the moves on a female bear.

But it turned out that the female bear, apparently not wanting anything to do with Chunk, had the slickest move.

Stated Explore.org, which shared the accompanying footage: “When you’d rather fall down a waterfall than be courted by Chunk.”

When you’d rather fall down a waterfall than be courted by Chunk pic.twitter.com/7ArTRwN4ID

— explore.org (@exploreorg) July 29, 2024

The footage showing the bear giving Chunk the slip – intentionally or otherwise – has garnered several responses pertaining to Chunk.

“Chunk is kind of like Leisure Suit Larry – the ladies want no part of him,” reads a top comment on Explore’s Instagram post.

A comment on Twitter: “Poor Chunk, he’s truly lovable really.”

The footage was captured at Brooks Falls, where the most dominant bears in Katmai National Park are foraging on salmon and competing for prime fishing spots.

Chunk, a large adult with numerous facial scars, is a fixture at Brooks Falls and a perennial Fat Bear Week candidate.

Fat Bear Week, conducted annually each October, is a bracket-style, fan-driven competition that celebrates the bears’ success in fattening up sufficiently to survive during hibernation.

Chunk, however, has never been named Fat Bear Week Champion.

Some might say it’s hard being Chunk.