Fans pick ‘Backpack’ as the fattest bear of the season in a tiebreaker vote
Brown bear 89 Backpack wins Fat Bear Week 2026, narrowly beating rival 910 in a fan vote of more than 200,000 votes.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Tag: Katmai National Park
Fat Bear Watch Is Back, and the Contest to Name the Park’s Fattest Bear Has Started
Katmai National Park's Fat Bear Week returns, let the public vote on the fattest bear, with Chunk back to defend his title.
Fat Bear Week Has Begun: These Bears Are Eating Their Way to the Championship
Meet Backpack, Bucky and other chunky bruins in Katmai's Fat Bear Week 2026, a 16-bear tournament of fattened champions.
Alaska’s bear fans return to Katmai National Park for Chunk’s Fat Bear Week title defense
Alaska's Fat Bear Week returns with 16 Katmai bears, including 1,200-pound champ Chunk and rival Gully, in an online bracket contest.
Nat Geo’s ‘Moment on the Earth’ series films brown bears at Brooks River in Katmai National Park
Nat Geo's 'Moment on the Earth' spotlights mother bears raising cubs in Alaska's Katmai National Park, a sanctuary amid rising fuel costs.
Maya Higa and Adapt Stunned as Brown Bear Hunts Just Feet Away at Alaska’s Katmai National Park
Twitch streamers Maya Higa and Adapt get a heart-stopping close encounter as a brown bear hunts fish just feet away during an Alaska livestream in Katmai National Park.