Bear #480, known affectionately as Otis, has been memorialized in a new short film titled Love Letters to Otis, released by explore.org. As the first winner of Fat Bear Week in 2014, Otis charmed audiences with his presence during the annual event, which garners substantial public interest through a livestream from Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
The film features footage of Otis from his early days on the livestream, highlighting his impact on viewers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It includes artwork inspired by Otis that fans sent to park rangers, capturing the beloved bear’s unique fishing techniques and the challenges he faced in his later years.
Otis passed away in 2024, with rangers suspecting old age or natural causes as the reasons for his death, as brown bears do not wear tracking collars. Mike Fitz, a former National Park Service ranger and a naturalist for explore.org, remarked on Otis’s calming presence: “His steadfast patience and determination when fishing at Brooks Falls gave many people a sense of calm.”
Otis became a symbol of the park, winning the title of Fat Bear of the Year multiple times—in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021. He was frequently seen fishing at a favorite location known as “Otis’s Office,” an area on the left side of Brooks Falls.
Brown bears typically return to Brooks Falls during the salmon migration in late June, where they feed to prepare for winter. They move to the lower Brooks River to eat salmon as the fish begin to spawn and die in the late summer and fall. Despite Otis’s passing, he remains a beloved figure in the park, representing the brown bear community.
Otis’s legacy continues through the Otis Fund, an annual fundraiser that supports research, conservation, and educational programs at Katmai. Since its inception in 2020, the fund has raised over $4 million, ensuring that Otis’s impact on the park and its ecosystems endures.
