Earth

Fat Bear Week 2026: Here’s how to participate!

Posted by
Kelly Kizer Whitt
and
September 22, 2026
A fat brown bear in a river!
This is last year’s Fat Bear Week champion, Bear 32 aka “Chunk.” After finishing as the runner-up in previous years, Chunk won the 2025 title — after making a remarkable recovery and bulking up despite a broken jaw and injured paw from earlier in the season. He’s officially in the 2026 Fat Bear Week tournament, defending his crown. Go Chunk! Read more about him from the U.S. National Park Service.

Love wildlife and the natural world? Get the latest animal stories — as well as space and night sky updates delivered to your inbox.

Fat Bear Week 2026 is here

Every year, Explore.org hosts Fat Bear Week, celebrating the hibernation prep for brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska. In 2026, Fat Bear Week runs from September 22 to 29. At this time of year, brown bears are packing on the pounds with the goal of surviving winter. Explore.org hosts live webcams in the park, so you can watch them fatten up on salmon and other available food. And you can vote on your favorite!

Vote here during Fat Bear Week 2026, September 22-29!

For Fat Bear Week, the bears are paired up in head-to-head matches, similar to your March Madness brackets. You can vote on who you think is the chubbiest chunk simply by clicking the picture of you chosen bear. You’ll have to enter your email when prompted, so there will only be one vote per email address. After you vote, you can see the results of the polls so far.

So, when can you start voting? The polls are open between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. CDT from September 22-29.

Go! Cast your vote for the 2026 champion of ursine eating!

Vote here during Fat Bear Week 2026, September 22-29!

A hefty brownish colored bear with trees around it.
Meet 128 Grazer. She won back-to-back Fat Bear titles in 2023 and 2024. And she’s still going strong. She’s been observed at Brooks River in Katmai National Park throughout 2025 and 2026, where she successfully raised her cub (128 Jr.) before separating from her in early summer 2026. She wasn’t selected for this year’s Fat Bear tournament. But 2 of her offspring — Bear 428 “Studious” and Bear 903 “Gully” — are competing! Image via NPS/ M. Carenza.

Why fat bears?

Explore.org explains:

During hibernation, bears do not eat or drink and lose one-third of their body weight. Their winter survival depends on accumulating ample fat reserves before entering the den.

To get fat, bears gorge on the richest and most accessible foods they can find. In Katmai National Park that often means salmon. Dozens of bears gather at Brooks River to feast on salmon from late June until mid-October. Perhaps no other river on Earth offers bears the chance to feed on salmon at one place for so long.

Fat Bear Week: A brownish gray bear that is extremely wide and chunky.
Meet 435 Holly. This bulky brown bear in Katmai National Park was the winner of Fat Bear Week back in 2019. Image via NPS/ L. Carter.

Meet the bears of Fat Bear Week

Get to know the bears in competition for the Fat Bear title. Visit this page to see not just single adult males and females, but also subadults and bear families with a mom and cubs!

Here’s a peak at some of the nominees.

Side-by-side of a brown bear, left regular and right fat.
This is bear 131. She did a good job of packing on the pounds over the summer. Image via Explore.org.
Two bears standing in the water, on the left it's thin and on the right it's plump.
This bear is 164 Bucky. He’s made good use of his summer by pumping up the plump. Image via Explore.org.
Left is mom bear and 3 cubs in grass, right is the same but a big heavier.
Mama bear 132 and her 3 cubs have also been gaining girth over the summer. Will it be enough to push them to a win? Image via Explore.org.

The brackets for Fat Bear Week 2026

Ready to participate? See all the bears, pick your favorites, and then vote! It’s easy. Just visit FatBearWeek.org.

Graphic with bears and brackets with a big question mark at center for the winner.
Here is the bracket for Fat Bear Week 2026. Who will win? Cast your vote at FatBearWeek.org. Image via Sara Wolman/ Explore.org.

Bottom line: It’s time for Fat Bear Week 2026! Vote for your favorite corpulent cutie as the brown bears of Katmai National Park fatten up for winter.

Vote here during Fat Bear Week 2026, September 22-29!

Read more: Katmai bear cam season begins now! Livestream here

BlueskyThreadsBuffer
Posted 
September 22, 2026
 in 
Earth

Kelly Kizer Whitt

View Articles
About the Author:
Kelly Kizer Whitt writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.

Like what you read?
Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.

Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. Privacy Policy
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

More from 

Kelly Kizer Whitt

View All
JUICE mission to fly by Earth next week! Details here
September 22, 2026
Forms of aurora: Arcs, curtains, coronas and more
September 18, 2026
Huge new Webb image is chock-full of space delights
September 17, 2026
1st adult T. rex trackway found by high school teacher
September 17, 2026