The Final Showdown of Alaska's Fat Bear Week Comes Down to Heavyweights Bear 910 and Backpack
Backpack won with more than 100,000 votes after edging Bear 910 in one of the closest Fat Bear Week finals, organizers said.
- On Tuesday, September 29, Bear #89, known as Backpack, was crowned the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion after Katmai National Park and Preserve's online single-elimination tournament concluded.
- The 12th annual competition featured 16 bears competing in a bracket-style tournament, with fans casting more than 2.5 million votes to select which bear best exemplified fatness and success.
- Backpack narrowly defeated runner-up Bear #910 in the final round, securing 103,334 votes to her 98,253, according to Explore.org data.
- Katmai National Park officials dubbed the champion a "CHONKION" and honored the bears' resilience, noting how the competition connects global audiences to the park's thriving ecosystem.
- The bears will shortly enter winter hibernation, during which they do not eat or drink and can lose one-third of their body weight, relying entirely on stored fat reserves.
104 Articles
104 Articles
In a curious vote in Canada, "Backpack" has been named the fattest bear of the year. The massive brown bear No. 89 won the "Fat Bear" election of the Katmai National Park, which received 2.5 million votes from over a hundred countries.
The number 89 brown bear, nicknamed Backpack, won the annual "Fat Bear Week" competition, after what the US National Parks Service described as a "battle of size, skill, taste and...
The final showdown of Alaska’s Fat Bear Week comes down to heavyweights Bear 910 and Backpack - WXXV News 25
E. Johnston/ National Park Service via AP, FILEBy JAIMIE DING After a week of fierce competition, Bear 910 and Backpack have emerged as the final contenders to be named the heftiest bear of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. There can only be one winner of Fat Bear Week, and it’s up to the voters to decide Tuesday. The contest,...
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