Rizky Amelia
A brown bear celebrated for his calm demeanor and impressive bulk has claimed the top prize in Alaska's annual Fat Bear Week competition, capping off a tournament that drew widespread public attention to the wildlife of Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The bear known as Backpack, officially designated Bear 89, was declared the winner on Tuesday evening after securing more than 100,000 votes. He narrowly edged out Bear 910, capturing just over 50 percent of the final poll in what proved to be a closely contested matchup.
The nonprofit organization that has run the contest for more than a decade made the announcement, bringing to a close a week of online voting that captivated nature enthusiasts around the world. The competition, now in its twelfth year, has become a beloved tradition that shines a spotlight on the bears of the Alaska Peninsula.
Fat Bear Week was first launched in 2014 as an engaging way to teach the public about brown bears, which are the coastal relatives of grizzly bears. The event celebrates the resilience of approximately 2,200 brown bears that make their home in the preserve, a vast wilderness area stretching from Alaska's southwestern corner toward the Aleutian Islands.
This year's tournament featured sixteen bears competing in a single-elimination, bracket-style format. Members of the public cast their votes online, with the final poll closing on Tuesday evening. Before making their selections, voters could observe the competitors via livestream cameras operated by explore.org, allowing them to assess the bears' size and condition in real time.
Backpack's path to victory included a notable win over Bucky, who had earlier eliminated last year's champion. Chunk, officially known as Bear 32, had claimed the 2025 title at an estimated weight of 1,200 pounds, but his reign ended abruptly in the first round this year at the hands of Bucky.
The new champion carries an impressive pedigree. Backpack is the offspring of Holly, a former Fat Bear Week winner who first brought him to the Brooks River in 2006 when he was just a first-year cub. His distinctive name comes from his youthful habit of riding on his mother's back as they crossed the water together.
Fans following the competition on social media celebrated Backpack's victory, highlighting both his lineage and his reputation for non-aggressive behavior. According to his contestant profile, Backpack has distinguished himself from many large adult male bears by refraining from showing hostility toward rivals.
Rather than engaging in physical confrontations, Backpack relies on what his profile describes as "quiet strength." Wildlife cameras have frequently captured him sitting alone on a rock downstream, seemingly enjoying the natural surroundings rather than asserting dominance over other bears.
His opponent in the final, Bear 910, also boasts an impressive family history. She is the daughter of 409 Beadnose, another former champion of the competition, making the matchup a meeting of two bears with winning lineages.
The biological stakes behind the contest are significant. Adult male brown bears generally weigh between 600 and 900 pounds in midsummer, but as they prepare for hibernation after consuming migrating and spawning salmon, the largest males can exceed 1,000 pounds. Female bears are typically about one-third smaller than their male counterparts.
During this critical feeding period, individual bears may consume as many as thirty fish per day. They are working to pack on enough fat to sustain them through the harsh Alaskan winter, effectively eating a year's worth of food in roughly six months. Once hibernation begins, bears neither eat nor drink and can lose up to one-third of their body weight before emerging in spring.
This year's competition also recognized an unusually high number of bear families at the river. Five bear families participated in the tournament, reflecting record numbers of mothers and cubs observed in the area during the summer months.
One notable competitor was Bear 132, a mother who has become one of the largest and most experienced at Brooks River. She advanced to the semifinals alongside her three spring cubs before being eliminated by Bear 910. Earlier in the season, one of her cubs became separated from the family and wandered the river corridor alone for several days before being reunited.
The challenges facing mother bears are considerable. They must simultaneously feed and protect their cubs while consuming enough calories to survive hibernation themselves. Cubs are particularly vulnerable to attacks from other bears, whether due to territorial disputes or competition for limited food resources.
The nonprofit behind the contest emphasizes that fat bears are successful bears. The animals gather at Brooks River each year starting in late June, when salmon begin their return to spawn. To qualify for inclusion in the competition, bears must regularly frequent the area around the river.
Backpack's victory adds another chapter to the ongoing story of Katmai's bear population and the public's fascination with these powerful yet charismatic animals. The contest continues to serve its original educational purpose, drawing attention to the remarkable adaptations that allow brown bears to thrive in one of the world's most challenging environments.
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