Chungus, the entry from a Delta County state park, wins Texas Parks and Wildlife's Fat Squirrel Week

A squirrel named Chungus from Cooper State Park in Northeast Texas won Texas Parks and Wildlife's Fat Squirrel Week contest, the department announced Friday, Oct. 23.

The contest ran as a bracket on the department's Facebook page, starting Sunday, Oct. 18, with 16 squirrels, each chosen by a state park, FOX 7 Austin reported. Fans voted by reacting to or commenting under the photo of their pick, and the final round closed at 6 p.m. Friday.

The finalists

Chungus represented the park's Doctors Creek unit in Delta County, northeast of Dallas, according to FOX 7. NBC 5 reported that the department's write-up placed his home behind the dumpster at the Lone Pine boat ramp. TPWD's backstory for him said he has had "a hard life" since age 2, when his mother disappeared while crossing a road.

The runner-up, Squirrelly Temple, came from Fort Parker State Park, south of Mexia and east of Waco. TPWD praised her "rounded cheeks" and gave her a tap-dancing persona. FOX 7 noted the Civilian Conservation Corps built Fort Parker in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

A joke that caught on

The contest copies the idea behind Fat Bear Week at Katmai National Park in Alaska. Carolyn Brannan, superintendent of Meridian State Park, told NBC 5 that it began last year as a lighthearted competition among her park and a few neighbors, and that it drew notice well outside Texas.

Park visitors supplied many of this year's photos, and the parks came up with the names and life stories, NBC 5 reported. Last year's champion, Chunkosaurus Rex of Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, did not compete this year.

The prize so far is bragging rights. Brannan said organizers may add a trophy that moves from winner to winner, or a championship belt, in future years.

Sources

NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

fox7austin.com

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