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A polar bear which is 30st overweight has been given a new nickname by local residents - and it's not partially flattering.

While the average polar bear tips the scales at about 71st, he comes in at a whopping 106st.

Many claim this makes him one of the fattest in the world, earning him the nickname 'Fat Albert'.

But it turns out Albert's size isn't all his fault.

He lives in Alaska, USA, where the locals throw out large amounts of whale blubber to the bears as a sign of 'respect'.

Photographer Edward Boudreau captured candid shots of the bear just as the villagers had harvested a whale.

(Image: Ed Boudreau/ Magnus News)

They would cut a large portion of the whale and blubber, and drag it four miles out of town for the bears to find.

This stops the bears from travelling into town to harvest and disrupting the process.

(Image: mediadrumimages/EdwardBoudreau/@)

In other words, it's a way to stop a group of hungry bears coming towards you in a hurry.

This is a tradition that has been followed for thousands of years, as a sign of respect to the incredible animals.

(Image: mediadrumimages/EdwardBoudreau/@)

But the residents aren't always able to harvest a whale, and when this happens the bears have to wait until the sea freezes over so that they can hunt for seals.

But Fat Albert isn't quite a record-holder just yet.

Back in the 1960s an Alaskan fisherman found a bear weighing 2,209lbs - that's 157.7.