Gentle giant Backpack declared winner of Alaska’s Fat Bear Week
Backpack won with more than 100,000 votes after edging Bear 910 in one of the closest Fat Bear Week finals, organizers said.
- On Tuesday, September 29, Bear #89, known as Backpack, was crowned the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion after Katmai National Park and Preserve's online single-elimination tournament concluded.
- The 12th annual competition featured 16 bears competing in a bracket-style tournament, with fans casting more than 2.5 million votes to select which bear best exemplified fatness and success.
- Backpack narrowly defeated runner-up Bear #910 in the final round, securing 103,334 votes to her 98,253, according to Explore.org data.
- Katmai National Park officials dubbed the champion a "CHONKION" and honored the bears' resilience, noting how the competition connects global audiences to the park's thriving ecosystem.
- The bears will shortly enter winter hibernation, during which they do not eat or drink and can lose one-third of their body weight, relying entirely on stored fat reserves.
196 Articles
196 Articles
Fat Bear Week 2026: Bear 89, Backpack, won the final in Katmai (Alaska) with 103,334 votes against 910 bear 98,253.
Cambridge Times
ParrySound.comFat Bear Week’s salmon-season celebration ends with 89 'Backpack' taking the 2026 title in Alaska
Bear 89, affectionately nicknamed “Backpack,” won Fat Bear Week 2026 at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, beating bear 910 in the public vote.
Bear number 89, nicknamed Backpack, has won the Alaska National Park's annual Fat Bear Week vote, where the public votes to choose the most convincing bear of the fall.
Fat Bear Week’s Tender King Is Named Backpack
Katmai National Park and Preserve’s annual Fat Bear Week is kind of like the Super Bowl for gay people who love animals. Every year, we huddle around our laptops to find out just how much salmon these adorable Alaskan carnivores can devour over the course of a few months, and appreciate just how big they’ve become. But this year’s winner, a brown bear named Backpack who earned the coveted title earlier this week, is one of the most special.Backp…
After a week of extremely tight competition, the Fat Bear Week reached its verdict: Backpack, a 20-year-old male, was declared Alaska's fattest brown bear of the year 2026 by Internet users.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
