And the Fat Bear Winner Is…

KATMAI NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE, AK—When it comes to bears, is the chubbier the better? Well, this time of year, as the cold weather closes in, the huge brown bears of Katmai are feasting on fish to fatten up for their winter slumber. Visitors are amazed at how fat the bears get, and for the past dozen years the National Park has held its Fat Bear contest with its non-profit partner, Explore.org and the Katmai Conservancy.

It started as just a single day deal, where people would vote on their favorite fat, furry-faced friend. But the next year, National Parks turned it into Fat Bear Week, and people worldwide can vote online for their favorite in head-to-head matchups.

From July through September, the bears gorge on tons of sockeye salmon that are swimming upstream to reproduce. The fish are so plentiful that the bears eat only the parts of the fish that have the most fat, like the skin, eggs and brain. Some bears will catch 30–40 fish a day. By the end of their binge, some brown bears can double their weight, tipping the scales at 1,200 pounds or more!

With 103,344 online votes, 89 Backpack waddled away with the BIG win! Brown bear 910 came in second with 98,253 votes. Backpack, now a 20-year-old bear, got its name as a cub when it would cling to its mother’s back when they crossed the river. His mother is Holly, the Fat Bear Week winner in 2019. The 1,200 Katmai bears will soon enter their dens for a light winter’s sleep called TORPOR. Relying on their stored fat, they won’t eat, drink water or pass waste until spring.