Katharina Sarah Prager, 22, of Weitra, Gmünd, Austria is one of the 89 candidates of Miss Earth 2022. It is the 22nd edition of the international beauty pageant that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility.

Miss Earth 2022

Representing the Philippines, Baguio City’s Roxanne Baeyens, 25, is Miss Earth-Water 2020. She was second runner-up to Miss Earth 2020 Lindsey Coffey, 30, of the United States, who was crowned in a virtual ceremony on November 29, 2020.

On November 21, 2021, Coffey’s successor Miss Earth 2021 Destiny Wagner, 26, of Belize was also crowned virtually. On November 29, 2022, Wagner will crown her successor at the Okada Manila in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The theme of Miss Earth 2022 is ME Loves Fauna. The 89 candidates are asked to choose an animal native to their respective countries, which will be part of their journey to the crown.

Katharina Sarah Prager

On September 4, 2022, Prager competed against 14 other candidates at Miss Earth Austria 2022 at Kursalon Hübner in Vienna, Austria. She won the title.

If Prager makes it to the Top 4 of Miss Earth 2022, she will be the international beauty pageant’s third winner from Austria. Both Miss Earth-Air 2013 Katia Wagner and Miss Earth-Air 2018 Melanie Mader are from the European country.

Prager is an advocate for clean energy generation. She chose to represent the brown bear at Miss Earth 2022.

Brown bear

Brown bears have long, thick fur with a moderately long mane at the back of the neck and are often not fully brown. They are currently listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In 2016, a brown bear believed to be from Italy or Slovenia made headlines after crossing the border and entering Austria. The bear was named Rudolf.

Also in 2016, Romania banned the trophy hunting of large carnivores including bears and wolves. In March 2021, Prince Emanuel von und zu Liechtenstein, then 32, allegedly shot a 17-year-old brown bear named Arthur during a hunting expedition in Romania.