Bear 89, better known as Backpack, is the 2026 champion of Katmai’s Fat Bear Week. He defeated Bear 910 in Tuesday’s final at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, earning 103,334 votes to 98,253 for 910. The tournament drew more than 2.3 million votes from around the world.
The people have made their voice heard: he is the chonkiest among them all. He carries the title of chonk champion, a name given to the most chonky of them all. The chonkion, if you will, is his own.
How Backpack Won
Backpack earned his name as a cub. He had a habit of climbing onto his mother’s back while crossing the Brooks River, and the nickname stuck. His mother, Bear 435 Holly, won Fat Bear Week in 2019.
His early years were not easy. In 2007, Backpack suffered a serious leg injury as a yearling and spent much of the summer unable to put weight on it. Park staff and visitors were not sure he would survive. The leg healed, Backpack stayed around, and he became a familiar face at Brooks Falls.
He is now roughly 20 years old, and he already has his own Fat Bear Week title.
A Brutal Bracket
The contest this year had a lot of strong contenders. Backpack defeated Bear 620 by well over 95% of the vote during the second round, and then just managed to survive a semifinal clash with Bear 164, winning by only 79,945 votes to 75,805.
Then came 910, who had already knocked off Bear 909 and the 132 family on her way to the final. Backpack won that one by a little more than 5,000 votes.
What Winning Looks Like
Backpack marks the occasion in the same manner he always has, regardless of what happens around him. He settles down into a river, consumes an enormous quantity of salmon, and ultimately withdraws from view for a lengthy winter slumber.
Oh, to be a bear.
A Family Affair
The competition has produced generations of champions, and Backpack’s family carries that legacy. His mother, Holly, captured the title in 2019, and now Backpack has followed in her footsteps with his own victory.
The contest’s current stage demonstrates just how far it has progressed, with more than 2.3 million votes coming in from across the globe, showing that viewers truly care about which bear ends up the fattest.
| Bear | Votes | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Backpack | 103,334 | Champion |
| Bear 910 | 98,253 | Runner-up |
| Bear 620 | Defeated | Lost to Backpack |
| Bear 164 Bucky | 75,805 | Lost to Backpack |
Why We Love This
This tale is utterly ridiculous at first glance. A bear known as Backpack managed to take home a fat bear competition prize after consuming salmon and putting on sufficient bulk to triumph through online votes. It sounds like a jest, yet it is completely true.
A contest at Katmai where people choose the fattest bear has grown into something watched around the world. The winning bear gets to sit by the river and eat salmon throughout the winter.
A survivor named Backpack endured a leg wound while still a cub, and today people honor him above all else for his appetite.
Source material: “The Champion of chonk: Backpack takes the 2026 Fat Bear Week crown at Katmai National Park,” Fox News.
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