Fans pick ‘Backpack’ as the fattest bear of the season in a tiebreaker vote

The National Park Service announced today that a brown bear named 89 Backpack has won Fat Bear Week 2026. He beat his rival 910 by a narrow margin after more than 200,000 votes were cast in the final. The contest was described as a “battle of size, skill, snack acquisition, and strategic loafing.”.

Each year, park visitors cast ballots for their preferred brown bears at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, with the animals fattening up before their winter rest. One bear named Backpack led the count with 103,344 votes, while the runner-up, 910, trailed behind with just 98,253.

Backpack’s rise

Holly’s son Backpack got his name from something he did when he was still a cub. He would reportedly climb onto his mother’s back instead of making the journey himself whenever he had to cross the salmon-filled Brooks River. His mother, Holly, previously won Fat Bear Week in 2019.

Since then he has grown considerably, and his official biography describes his “quiet toughness” as what helped him find a place “alongside the biggest bears at Brooks River.”. That size clearly attracted voters, with one supporter praising both his “chonk and the badonk,” while another simply described him as a “big fuzzy boy.”.

The contest came down to a narrow finish. 910 fell just over 5,000 votes short of Backpack. Fans of the female bear cited her year raising both her own cub and an adopted niece, with one voter describing her as a “larger bear all around”, while Backpack was said to be a “just has a bigger booty.”.

The 2026 field

The 2026 contest featured 16 bears, with Backpack emerging from the bracket to take the crown.

Since its launch, Fat Bear Week has grown into a global event, and more than 1.7 million votes were cast from over 100 countries in 2025.

Why bears fatten up

Before going into hibernation, bears need to build up substantial fat reserves because they neither eat nor drink throughout the winter. During that period, they can shed roughly a third of their body weight.

For about four months, from June through roughly mid-October, brown bears at Katmai feast heavily on food, especially the salmon found throughout Brooks River, before withdrawing into their dens. A fully grown adult male brown bear can tip the scales at over 540kg, while females often surpass 300kg in weight.

Last year’s winner

Bear 32 Chunk secured last year’s championship by beating Bear 856 in the final, having first recovered from a lasting jaw wound before putting on weight for hibernation.

With Backpack now taking the 2026 crown, the crown stays at Katmai as its bears prepare for another winter.

What the vote means

The contest came down to a narrow margin, with a difference of just 5,000 votes spread across more than 200,000 ballots.

The contest has turned into a cultural institution, drawing votes from more than 100 nations around the globe last year, making its appeal extend well beyond the borders of Alaska.

The NPS description of the battle as one of “size, skill, snack acquisition, and strategic loafing” captures the spirit of the thing: it is a celebration of gluttony, patience and sheer appetite.

KEY FACTS
– Winner: 89 Backpack
– Runner-up: 910
– Final votes: Backpack 103,344, 910 98,253
– Total votes cast: more than 200,000
– Contest field: 16 bears
– 2025 votes: 1.7 million from over 100 countries
– Bear weights: males >540kg, females >300kg

Backpack has become the face of Katmai’s fattening season for another year, thanks to the contest, which has turned these animals into minor celebrities. The crown remains at Katmai, and the bears will soon take up residence in their dens for the winter.

Source material: “Fat Bear Week 2026 crowns winner ‘Backpack’ after razor-close fan vote,” Dexerto.

Alaska · bear conservation · Fat Bear Week · Katmai National Park · viral wildlife