Few competitions celebrate contestants for becoming as large and round as possible, but every fall, Fat Bear Week turns the brown bears of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve into the stars of an international online tournament. The annual event invites people to vote for the bear they think best represents “fatness and success” after a summer spent preparing for winter. Longtime Pandas might remember that we covered Fat Bear Week a few years ago, and the 2026 edition has now crowned a new champion: Bear 89, better known as Backpack.
This year’s competition ran from September 22 through September 29 and once again placed Katmai’s bears into a bracket-style tournament, with the public deciding which animals advanced through each matchup. Fat Bear Week is organized through a partnership between the National Park Service, Explore.org, and the Katmai Conservancy.
The official votes may already be counted, and Backpack may have claimed the crown, but that doesn’t mean you have to agree with the result. Scroll through this year’s contenders below, upvote the chubby bear that would have earned your vote, and let us know in the comments which Katmai heavyweight is your personal Fat Bear Week champion.
#1 Bear 131 “Marshmallow”
“This bear has blond ears, dark eye rings, a short muzzle, and light brown to blond fur that turns grizzled brown by late summer.
Biography
Bear 131 was born in 2018 and first identified as an independent 2.5-year-old in 2020. Her first years of independence were typical of many subadults. She explored her boundaries, established a home range, sought out playmates with similar-aged bears, and refined her fishing skills.
A maturing adult, 131 is at an age when female bears give birth for the first time. She’s never been observed with cubs, which isn’t surprising. Reproduction in brown bears is slow, even when all of the necessary circumstances line up. With each year, however, 131 has grown larger and her fishing skills have improved. She appears this September to be proportionally fatter than she has ever been. Cubs could be in 131’s near future. Her growth both in size and maturity positions her well for the challenges ahead.”
Report
18points
Katmai is an especially fitting place for a competition centered around very well-fed bears. Located on the Alaska Peninsula, the national park protects a vast wilderness of volcanoes, rivers, lakes, salmon habitat, and some of the world’s most famous brown bears. Brooks River, in particular, has become closely associated with Katmai’s bears because of the large numbers that gather there during salmon season.
#2 Bear 910
“This is a large adult female who has dark brown fur, a prominent brow ridge, and somewhat short forward-pointing ears.
Biography
Born in 2016, bear 910 is the daughter of former Fat Bear Week champion, 409 Beadnose, and sister to 909. Her close relationship with her sister helped the 909 and 910 families bond in summer 2022. The following year, 910 adopted her niece, 609, into her family as she continued to raise her biological cub, 620.
910 separated from that litter in late spring 2025. Since then, she’s lived alone and has used the opportunity to fish where and when she wants. She can fish successfully throughout much of the river including the lip of Brooks Falls. She can be recognized there by her peculiar and frequent head lifts, a quirk of movement that she does not do anywhere else.
Large and apparently healthy female bears like 910 attract the desires of many males during the brief bear mating season. Other Fat Bear Week bears such as 151 Walker and 164 Bucky courted 910 in early summer. Body fat is vital to the ability of female bears to nurse their newborn cubs after giving birth in mid-winter. 910 looks well-endowed to endure that effort if she gives birth again. Her previous experience, success, and her skills in building fat place 910 in a position to achieve even more in life.”
Report
17points
#3 Bear 164 “Bucky”
“This is a large adult male who has grizzled brown fur and blond-tipped ears tipped. Many observers identify him by a line of darker fur near his eyes on his upper muzzle.
Biography
Bucky was first identified as an independent 2.5-year-old in 2019. Young male bears are inclined to test their boundaries. For Bucky, testing your boundaries means adapting to competition and embracing opportunity.
Productive fishing spots are often limited at Brooks Falls, especially for young bears. Standing at the edge of the deepest plunge pool, nearly under the cascade of Brooks Falls, Bucky discovered that he could catch salmon in a few ways. He could capture them welling up from the pool below, jumping through the air, and falling from above. This is a spot that no other bear—currently or in the recent past—has tried to fish at consistently.
Large amounts of food allow bears to grow fast, and Bucky has grown a lot during the last few years. A change in attitude accompanied his increase in size. Bucky is able—and often willing—to displace most other bears from preferred fishing spots. Bucky has also shown a tendency to challenge other bears for dominance, even when no fishing spot is in dispute. Male brown bears in Katmai usually reach the peak of their size and strength when they are about 12 – 20 years old. Bucky is estimated to be only 9 years old in 2026, so he could grow even larger and more dominant. Since making his presence known at Brooks River, Bucky seized the opportunities in front of him. We have yet to see how far those opportunities will take him.”
Report
13points
For those bears, gaining weight before winter is far more than a matter of appearances. By late summer and early fall, they are working to build the fat reserves they will rely on during hibernation, when they do not eat or drink and can lose around one-third of their body weight. The abundance of salmon at Brooks River gives many of them an important opportunity to pack on those crucial pounds before heading into their dens. That seasonal transformation eventually inspired Fat Bear Week. Katmai’s first fat bear tournament began in 2014 as “Fat Bear Tuesday,” a one-day event held on the park’s Facebook page. It proved popular enough that the concept was expanded into the first Fat Bear Week in 2015, while voting later moved to FatBearWeek.org in 2020 so even more people could take part.
#4 Bear 284
“This mother has a prominent shoulder hump, grizzled brown fur, and blond-tipped ears.
Biography
Bear 284 was born in 2008 and introduced to Brooks River by her mother 708 Amelia. As a cub, 284 was curious and bold, traits that she carried into her subadult years. As a full-grown adult, and especially when she’s raising cubs, 284 is prone to challenge other bears and sometimes people to protect her personal space or offspring.
Now in her late teens, 284 is at an age when mother bears often have their greatest reproductive success. Her lifetime of experience and collective knowledge of her home range combine to give 284 advantages when raising cubs that younger mothers don’t yet have.
Her success, and that of her current litter of cubs, is a continuation of a family legacy. It includes the efforts of her mother, 708 Amelia, to gift 284 with the knowledge and skills to survive on her own. This was a legacy of 708’s introduction to Brooks River by her mother, 438 Reggie. 284’s known offspring, such as 901 and 384, follow bear trails blazed by several maternal generations. In this manner, 284 and her current litter of cubs are part of a greater story. It is a legacy of success and survival.”
Report
13points
#5 Bear 32 “Chunk”
“This is a large adult male who has a large distinctive scar on his muzzle and a protruding canine tooth from a broken jaw suffered in 2025.
Biography
Chunk was first identified as an independent and chunky-looking 2.5-year-old in 2007. He grew into his nickname as a young adult and is now one of the largest bears at the river. Chunk broke his jaw in June 2025. No person observed how he was injured, but the nature of the fracture strongly suggests that the injury is the result of a fight with another bear.
This was perhaps the most serious injury Chunk had ever experienced. We watched him adapt and recover in real time. Chunk knew his strengths and recognized his weaknesses. His body size alone ensured a high rank in the hierarchy and good access to productive fishing spots. The 2025 salmon run was exceptionally abundant in Brooks River too, giving him ample opportunity to satisfy his hunger with ease.
His story this summer is mostly unknown. Chunk made few appearances at Brooks River before September. His low hanging belly is evidence that he was eating well, but we don’t know where he made his living before his recent return. Although Chunk’s absence for most of the summer leaves us asking many questions, his body size confirms that he used his determination and adaptability to persevere and succeed. He is the defending Fat Bear Week champion.”
Report
12points
The format is simple: two bears face each other in each matchup, and voters choose the one they believe best exemplifies fatness and success among Katmai’s brown bears. The bear with the most votes advances to the next round until one competitor remains as the champion. Not every bear seen around Brooks River automatically makes the bracket, though. Rangers choose animals that were present there in both early and late summer, giving voters a chance to compare how their bodies changed over the season. They also consider each bear’s individual history and whether suitable photographs show that transformation.
#6 Bear 89 “Backpack”
“This is a medium-large adult male with blond ears, light brown fur in early summer, and grizzled brown fur in late summer. He has relatively few visible wounds and scars compared to most adult males in his size and age class.
Biography
Backpack’s mother and former Fat Bear Week champion, Holly, introduced him to Brooks River when he was a first-year cub in 2006. Backpack often climbed onto his mother’s back when the pair swam in the river, a habit that inspired his nickname.
He returned with a significant leg injury in 2007. No person witnessed how Backpack was injured, though he clearly favored the injured leg and did not put weight on it for much of the summer. Park staff and the visiting public openly wondered about his chances of survival. Backpack soon proved he only needed the chance to let his mother care for him and recover on his own. His leg healed and he separated from his mom in 2008. Since then, Backpack has grown into a large adult and become a consistent presence at Brooks Falls, especially in early summer.
Unlike many large adult male bears, Backpack hasn’t shown much aggression toward his competitors. He’ll stand up for himself when necessary, but he prefers to use a quiet strength to gain access to preferred fishing spots. His body size suggests that the strategy works. Although some bears are brawlers who thrive in the face of competition, others find a way to live within calmer niches. These bears, like Backpack, express their own versions of toughness, yet are no less successful than their more aggressive counterparts. Backpack’s quiet toughness has allowed him to find his niche alongside the biggest bears at Brooks River.”
Report
12points
#7 Bear 132
“This mother is a large adult female with grizzled dark brown fur, forward leaning ears, and a wide belly. Her face is distinguished from other bears by the inverted V or chevron pattern of fur on her forehead.
Biography
Bear 132 was first identified as a 4.5-year-old in 2009. She’s become one of the largest and most experienced mother bears at Brooks River. Her three spring cubs represent her fourth known litter.
In mid-July, one of 132’s cubs went missing from the family. No one witnessed where or how this happened. For several days, the cub wandered the river corridor alone and sometimes approached different bear families only to be ignored or chased away. The longer the cub remained alone, the greater the risk to them.
As an experienced mother with two remaining cubs to care for, 132 continued her efforts to protect and feed them yet her bond with the missing cub remained strong. After several days apart, 132 and her cub reunited in the lower Brooks River area. Perhaps a bit of luck was involved, but maybe the reunion was made more likely because of 132’s experience at Brooks River. She knows the area well and where her cubs are safest. Experience is a significant advantage for mother bears, and 132 showcases it through the survival of her cubs. She is believed to be the mother of 806, another 2026 Fat Bear Week contender. This is her first Fat Bear Week appearance.”
Report
12points
And despite the name of the competition, voting does not necessarily come down to choosing whichever bear simply looks biggest. Fat Bear Week is deliberately subjective because success can look very different depending on the animal. Mothers must accumulate enough reserves while also feeding and protecting their cubs; younger bears are still growing and learning the skills they need to survive, while older animals may have to compete with younger rivals for productive fishing spots.
#8 Bear 151 “Walker”
“This is a large adult male with dark brown fur, a pear-shaped body, a long muzzle, and large round ears.
Biography
As a young, independent bear, Walker seemed to enjoy the company of other bears. He sought opportunities to play and was good at motivating other bears to join him. You could’ve concluded that Walker was easy going. You would’ve been right. Fast forward to 2026, though, and Walker is a different bear.
Currently, he’s much more willing to challenge other bears than engage them in play. He experiences pushback, too. Walker now faces a challenging lineup of younger adult males who want the same things as him. Walker’s size and experience has, so far, given him an advantage over most of those competitors, but that won’t last forever. In fact, his place in the hierarchy might already be at risk as younger bears, such as 164 Bucky, 903 Gully, and others, grow into the prime of their lives.
How much of a young bear’s personality remains with them into adulthood? Since some bears use Brooks River in Katmai National Park for their entire lives, we’re given a chance to find some answers. Just like in people, the behavior of a youthful bear is not the same as that in an older adult. Walker provides a clear example of change alongside maturity.”
Report
12points
#9 Bear 428 “Studious”
“This small adult female has a short-pointed muzzle, blond ears, and grizzled blond fur in late summer.
Biography
Bear 428 was born in 2020 and first identified as an independent 3.5-year-old in 2023. As the daughter of the famously defensive and former Fat Bear Week champ, 128 Grazer, 428 had access to prime fishing spots at Brooks Falls that are unavailable to most cubs. As a yearling and 2.5-year-old, 428 followed her mother’s lead. She fished the lip of the falls, where younger bears are often displaced. Many bearcam fans refer to 428 by the nickname Studious because of her focused attention when she joined her mother fishing on the lip of Brooks Falls.
She’s already an excellent angler on the lip of the falls. One of her biggest hurdles is competition from other bears. To compensate, she takes advantage of her opportunities, either on the lip when space is available or by seeking salmon elsewhere. Several years after her apprenticeship ended with Grazer, how might 428 navigate the changes and challenges she’ll face as a maturing adult? The evidence so far suggests that Studious has a promising future.”
Report
12points
The 2026 tournament also looked a little different from recent editions. From 2021 through 2025, organizers held a separate Fat Bear Junior competition as a warm-up to the main event. This year, however, they decided to expand the main Fat Bear Week field instead, allowing more bears, including additional mothers and cubs, to take part directly.
#10 Bear 620
“This female subadult bear has a long tail and light brown fur that becomes grizzled brown by late summer.
Biography
Bear 620 is on the cusp of adulthood and was first introduced to Brooks River as a spring cub in 2022. Her early life was filled with opportunities for socialization and learning. In an event only rarely documented among brown bears, 620’s mother, 910, and aunt, 909, bonded their families together in summer 2022. Each mother had a single cub, and between early August and late October, they largely traveled, fished, and played as a group. The next year, 910 and 620 adopted 909’s cub into their family.
When 910 separated from her cubs in spring 2025, it marked a new chapter in 620’s life. How will 620 use her experience and skills to strike her own path forward? Familiarity with Brooks River and knowing how to share space with her large mother and aunt may prove to be key to 620’s survival, longevity, and success.”
Report
11points
#11 Bear 610
“This mother is a small adult female with a long muzzle and grizzled light brown fur. A large scar is sometimes visible at the top of her hips.
Biography
Bear 610 began her life of independence earlier than expected. She was so small when she was first identified in the fall of 2015 that many rangers believe that she was a yearling bear. Most bears in Katmai stay with their mothers through two or three summers before family breakup the following spring. A sudden danger or accident may have contributed to 610’s separation from her mother.
Adversity came in other forms for 610. In 2015, she had a large, yet healing, wound above her hips. The resultant scar reminds us that she experienced and survived an attack at one of the most vulnerable points in her life.
This season, 610 faces a new challenge. She arrived at the river with her first known litter. She’s nurtured and kept them safe throughout the summer, a difficult feat for first time moms in Katmai. She is a small statured bear with a disproportionately large ability to overcome hardship. This is her first Fat Bear Week appearance.”
Report
10points
Beneath all the playful brackets, nicknames, and online campaigning, Fat Bear Week also draws attention to the ecosystem that makes those dramatic transformations possible. Katmai’s bears depend heavily on its salmon runs, and seeing them become impressively round by the end of summer is, in many ways, a visible sign of success. The event has also given people worldwide a way to follow individual bears from afar. Through Explore.org live bear cams, viewers can watch them fish, compete for spots along the river, raise cubs, and gradually transform over the course of the season. Even after Fat Bear Week ends and the bracket disappears for another year, the bears themselves remain the real attraction.
#12 Bear 901
“This mother is a medium-sized adult female who has blond-rimmed and triangle-shaped ears. Her fur is golden brown in early summer and grizzled brown in late summer.
Biography
Bear 901 was first identified as a 2.5-year-old subadult in 2018. She has since become one of the most prominent and recognizable female bears at Brooks River. She’s a common sight around the river mouth and in the vicinity of the campground, lodge, and national park visitor center.
Her adult life is marked by growth and sudden change. 901 readily achieves a level of fatness above that of many other bears, so she’s well positioned to survive winter and support the growth of her cubs. Yet, she has experienced mixed results while raising cubs. No cubs from her first litter survived. One of her two cubs in 2026 disappeared in June.
Since then, 901’s parental efforts have demonstrated her ability to work through loss. She knows the river well. She is a good angler. Her surviving cub has grown to become one of the largest at the river this year. Sudden loss and change have been part of 901’s life so far, but we also see her success reflected in her body size and the health of her cub.”
Report
9points
#13 Bear 903 “Gully”
“This is a medium-large adult male with grizzled brown fur and a long straight muzzle. In early summer, he is often identifiable by his Eeyore-like sitting position on the lip of Brooks Falls.
Biography
Bear 903 was born in 2016 and is believed to be the son of former Fat Bear Week champion 128 Grazer. A cub’s life with Grazer can be hectic as Grazer doesn’t avoid bringing her cubs to places with high concentrations of bears, such as Brooks Falls. Gully’s introduction to Brooks River gave him an early opportunity to experience the rewards and risks present at Brooks Falls.
Maybe those experiences also gave 903 the confidence to try new things. During 2020, amidst one of the largest salmon runs ever observed at Brooks River, Gully decided that birds should also be on the menu. Unlike most of the river’s brown bears who ignore birds, Gully would charge into resting or feeding flocks of gulls to capture and eat them. This behavior inspired his nickname.
He’s since become large enough to vie for access to the most productive fishing spots at Brooks Falls. Gully is now more dominant than some older bears like 151 Walker. Maybe he won’t need to hunt birds in the future, but we’re likely to see him display his adaptability and skill to find success among some challenging competition.”
Report
9points
#14 Bear 806
“This mother has round blond-tipped ears and grizzled brown fur. In early summer, she can have a short mane of longer fur around her head and face.
Biography
Bear 806 was first identified as a 3.5-year-old bear in 2019. She’s had three known litters, though her current litter is perhaps the most unique. It includes a single spring cub and an adopted 2.5-year-old. The adopted cub, known as Biggie, separated from her mother, 128 Grazer, in late spring. No one witnessed the first contact between Biggie and 806, but the adopted cub was the bear who likely took the risk to approach her new family. The blended family shows 806’s behavioral flexibility and willingness to extend her devotion beyond her biological cub.
806’s caring nature does have limits. On July 28, 806 attacked, and partly ate bear 909’s spring cub. The cub swam across the river while her mother fished in the river mouth. This placed her near the 806 family and sparked their curiosity. After a few minutes the cub ran from the family, perhaps due to confusion about her own mother’s location or to escape to the safety of nearby trees. This triggered 806 to chase.
806’s attack on 909’s cub might seem incongruous with her adoption of Biggie just a few weeks before. The adoption is evidence of 806’s devotion and her behavioral flexibility. The fatal attack illustrates her ferocity and predatory instincts. But these behaviors are not mutually exclusive. Variations of them exist in all mother bears. They are honed through learned experience and initiated by circumstance. 806 is neither villain nor hero. She’s a bear, one who is fully capable of expressing great ferocity at the same time she is devoted and caring. This is her first Fat Bear Week appearance.”
Report
8points
#15 Bear 909
“This is a large adult female who has brown late summer fur and wide set, blond ears.
Biography
Born in 2016, bear 909 is the daughter of former Fat Bear Week champion, 409 Beadnose, and sister to 910. Her year began with the hope represented in her newborn cubs, became mired by the complete loss of her litter, and has since been bookended by a display of resilience.
She arrived at Brooks River in early June with two spring cubs who represented her second known litter. One cub disappeared by the time the first pulses of salmon arrived. Further tragedy struck 909 at the end of July when her last cub was eaten by another mother bear as 909 fished in the mouth of Brooks River (see 806’s biography for more information).
Mother bears react in myriad ways to the loss of cubs. Whether they mourn or feel any sense of sadness is unknown. With each passing day bringing winter ever closer, however, 909’s behavior showed that she remained motivated to prepare for hibernation. She displayed her resilience in the face of loss by navigating the rest of the summer with determination and skill. The effort is reflected in her plentiful body fat.”
Report
8points
#16 Bear 694
“This male subadult has round ears placed high on his head and uniformly brown fur with hints of a remnant natal collar (a ring of lighter colored fur) near his neck.
Biography
Bear 694 is on a journey of discovery. He was born in 2022 and first identified as an independent bear in 2025. As a cub, 694 and his siblings tailed their mother throughout much of Brooks River, though the family mostly avoided visiting Brooks Falls. He might now realize the lucrative fishing opportunities available at the falls. He’ll investigate that area of the river and often catches salmon in the riffles immediately downstream, yet he is still too small to compete with the larger bears who prefer to fish there.
He frequently makes time to socialize with other bears, especially other subadults of similar age. Play doesn’t always take precedence over food for 694. He sometimes breaks a play session short to look for a salmon that captures his attention.
A brown bear’s survival is never guaranteed, especially for young bears like 694 who work to satisfy their hunger while facing considerable competition from larger bears. We don’t know whether 694 will ultimately choose to make Brooks Falls one of his preferred fishing locations. Even so, his work to socialize and discover new opportunities may position him to find much success as an adult.”
Report
7points