Fat Bear Week 2025 Commences at Katmai National Park
Katmai National Park in Alaska launches its annual Fat Bear Week, inviting the public to vote online for the fattest brown bear as they prepare for hibernation.
Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska has initiated its annual Fat Bear Week, an online competition where the public votes to determine the park's fattest brown bear as they prepare for winter hibernation. The single-elimination tournament runs from September 23 to September 30, with daily voting open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Participants can cast their votes at www.fatbearweek.org and observe the bears via live streams provided by Explore.org.
This year's contenders include 128 Jr., the offspring of reigning two-time champion Grazer, and 32 Chunk, who is recovering from a broken jaw sustained in a previous altercation. The competition not only highlights the bears' impressive weight gain—some exceeding 1,000 pounds—but also educates the public on their survival strategies and the importance of salmon runs to the ecosystem.
Fat Bear Week has grown into a global phenomenon, celebrating the resilience of brown bears and the ecological richness of Katmai National Park. The event underscores the significance of healthy salmon populations, which are vital to the bears' ability to accumulate the fat reserves necessary for hibernation.