Fat Bear Week Begins in Alaska as Public Votes on Katmai Bears
The bracket features 16 bears, and fans can vote online as officials highlight a record year for cubs and a possible generational shift.
- On Tuesday, September 22, public voting opens for Fat Bear Week at Katmai National Park, Alaska, where 16 brown bears compete in a single-elimination tournament to be crowned the chunkiest.
- The National Park Service established this annual tournament in 2014 to celebrate bears preparing for winter hibernation by consuming enough calories to avoid losing 15-30% of their body weight.
- Reigning champion 32 Chunk leads 15 other contestants across four categories—families, subadults, single adult females, and adult males—with voters selecting the bear that "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears."
- Fans can cast votes on Explore's website from September 22 through September 29, participating in a contest that draws nearly one million votes annually celebrating these "chubby cubbies."
- After voting concludes, Katmai officials typically post "transformation" photos showcasing the bears' visible bulking, highlighting the thriving ecosystem that supports some of the world's largest brown bears.
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U.S. government proudly embraces Fat Bear Week. Hilarious memes ensue
When you hear people talking about Fat Bear Week, you’re probably picturing large hairy men wearing very little clothing. But it turns out the event has nothing to do with gay bears and everything thing to do with the animal itself. For more than a decade now, the Katmai National Park and Preserve has been putting on a novel competition to determine which bear has gotten the chubbiest while prepping for hibernation by gorging on salmon. Katmai, …
Since Wednesday, September 23 and for a week, Americans have been invited to participate in the "Fat Bear Week", a ritual launched in 2014 by Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Fat Bear Week Celebrates Its Twelfth Year
Fat Bear Week is back! From September 22 to September 29, 2026, fans worldwide can vote for the fattest brown bear at Alaska's Katmai National Park. Now in its 12th year, the fun contest shines a spotlight on these remarkable animals and the Alaskan wilderness they call home.
PRESS REVIEW. The "fat beach week" is scheduled this week to refer to the brown bear that is the most fattened on the Katmai reserve, before the hibernation period. A heavyweight contest that is passionate about the American press "Call them big. Call them fat. Call them roundheads. Bears are back, bigger than ever." This week, it is an election that is passionate about the New York Times – and with it the American press – almost more than half-…
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