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And the Fat Bear Week winner is … Backpack!

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October 3, 2026

A bear rubbing its back on a tree with a crown appearing. — The winner of Fat Bear Week 2026 is … Backpack! The people voted him the chonkiest chunk at Katmai National Park this season. He’s the son of former 2019 winner, Holly. Congrats, Backpack! Image via Explore.org.

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The Fat Bear Week 2026 winner is … Backpack!

The BIG winner of this year’s Fat Bear Week competition is Backpack, or Bear 89. He won the most votes in the annual roly-poly competition to walk away the champion. But his journey to get here wasn’t easy. When Backpack was just a pudgy prodigy, he had a serious leg injury. His mom helped him survive a fate of being easy pickings from bigger bears by carrying him on her back. And that mom just so happens to be Holly, the grand champion of 2019. Congrats to Backpack, and good job, mom!

A large, dark bear standing in water. — Backpack is your 2026 Fat Bear Week winner! Image via U.S. Dept. of Interior.

A yearly competition

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 ran from September 22 to 29. This is the time of year that 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.

In Fat Bear Week, the bears are paired up in head-to-head matches, similar to your March Madness brackets. Backpack (aka Bear 89) went head-to-head with Bear 910 in the final match and came out on top. Were you one of those who voted on your favorite? Did your bear win?

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. She’s also the mum of this year’s winner! Image via NPS/ L. Carter.

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.

A hefty brownish colored bear with trees around it. — This is 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” — did compete! Image via NPS/ M. Carenza.

Meet the bears of Fat Bear Week

Get to know the bears that vied for the title of Fat Bear. And visit this page to see not just single adult males and females, but also subadults and bear families with a mom and cubs!

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.

2 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

Here’s how the contest shook out.

Cartoon images for brackets showing bear numbers going inward toward the winner. — Backpack was the ultimate winner of Fat Bear Week 2026. Image via Sara Wolman/ Explore.org.

Bottom line: Congrats to Backpack, the winner of Fat Bear Week 2026! Take a look at the final brackets and see where your favorite fatties fell.

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Posted

October 3, 2026

Earth

Kelly Kizer Whitt

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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.

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And the Fat Bear Week winner is … Backpack!