"Vote for Your Bear"... Alaska's 'Fat Bear Week' Begins

Vote for the Bear That Best Demonstrates Survival Success

Also Used as an Educational and Promotional Event for Brown Bear Ecology and the National Park

An annual event to determine the "fattest bear" among brown bears bulking up before hibernation was held at Katmai National Park in Alaska, United States.

Chunk, the winner of "Fat Bear Week" 2025, appears noticeably larger ahead of the winter of 2026. Katmai National Park

According to foreign media such as ABC News on the 26th (local time), this year's "Fat Bear Week" runs from September 22 to September 29. Participating bears compete in a one-on-one tournament format. Every day, citizens can vote online for the bear that will advance to the next round. The voting criterion is to support the bear that "best demonstrates the bear’s obesity and likelihood of survival." This is because for brown bears, gaining weight is about accumulating enough fat to survive the long winter hibernation. However, there have also been cases where a bear was considered for its unique story, such as a mother bear struggling to raise her cubs, and went on to win the title.

This year’s competition features bears including "Grazer," "Walker," "Backpack," and "Bucky." The winner will be determined by a final vote on September 29.

'Chubby Bear Weekly' 2026 Candidate 'Backpack'. Kartmai National Park

"Fat Bear Week" is a globally popular event. Last year, more than 1.7 million votes were cast from over 100 countries. The 2025 winner was the defending champion, "Chunk." Chunk went up against competitors such as "Grazer's" cub "Grazer Junior," who is known for being a dedicated mother and a two-time winner. Chunk was highly praised for demonstrating resilience and survival even after recovering from a fractured jaw, in addition to his large physique.

This event started in 2014 as an idea from park ranger Mike Fitz at Katmai National Park. Fitz was inspired after seeing a photo in the bear live cam comments, comparing the appearance of the same bear in June and September. It showed how brown bears dramatically increase in size within a few months as they focus on eating the salmon swimming upstream, preparing for hibernation. Initially, it was held for just one day as "Fat Bear Tuesday" on September 30, 2014, but from the following year, it expanded into a weeklong tournament.

Katmai National Park uses "Fat Bear Week" as an educational event to teach about the ecology of brown bears and the park environment. Educational resources related to this event are also available on the park's website. Rian Roh, a representative of the national park, explained to The Washington Post (WP) that "Stories about endangered animals and conservation can often be grim and depressing, but during Fat Bear Week we can truly celebrate and root for bears and nature."

In addition to Fat Bear Week, annual events such as the "Antarctic Emperor Penguin Observation Contest" and the "Fat Seal Contest" are also held.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.