Fat Bear Week 2026 is officially on the calendar, and the internet's most beloved wildlife competition is returning to Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska from September 22 through 29, 2026. Over eight days of bracket-style voting, fans from around the world will crown the fattest brown bear on the Brooks River — a lighthearted celebration of the astonishing weight gain bears need to survive winter hibernation. Fresh off a 2025 tournament that drew more than 1.5 million votes and a commanding win by Bear 32, better known as "Chunk," the 2026 field is already taking shape, with the defending champion back to defend his crown.
What Is Fat Bear Week — and Who Won in 2025?
Fat Bear Week is an annual single-elimination tournament run by the National Park Service and the nonprofit streaming platform Explore.org. It began in 2014 as a one-day "Fat Bear Tuesday" dreamed up by former park ranger Mike Fitz, who noticed how captivated viewers were by the park's live bear cams. A year later it expanded into a full week, and it has since become a viral fall tradition that turns ordinary people into devoted armchair naturalists.
The premise is simple and delightfully wholesome. Each day, two bears are pitted against one another, and voters pick the bear that best "exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears," as Explore.org puts it. Katmai is home to roughly 2,200 brown bears, and those that fish the Brooks River gorge on sockeye salmon from late June into October in a feeding frenzy known as hyperphagia. The biggest males can gain up to 500 pounds in a single season, reaching weights near 1,200 pounds before denning in November.
The 2025 title went to Bear 32 "Chunk," a massive adult male who became a fan favorite during his run to the championship. His victory continued a recent run of dynasties at Brooks Falls. Overall, the 2025 bracket pulled in more than 1.5 million votes, up from about 1.2 million the year before — a sign that Fat Bear Week has firmly crossed over from niche livestream to mainstream autumn spectacle.
How to See Fat Bear Week's Bears for Yourself
For travelers, Fat Bear Week doubles as the perfect excuse to plan a bucket-list trip to one of North America's wildest landscapes. Katmai National Park and Preserve sprawls across more than 4 million acres of southwestern Alaska — a roadless region of volcanoes, lakes, and salmon-choked rivers where bears outnumber people.
The epicenter of bear viewing is Brooks Camp, home of the famous Brooks Falls. Because there are no roads into the park, most visitors arrive by float plane from the gateway town of King Salmon. From the camp's elevated viewing platforms, you can safely watch dozens of bears fish shoulder-to-shoulder at the falls, sometimes catching as many as 30 salmon in a single day.
Timing matters. Bears congregate at the Brooks River from late June until mid-October, but Fat Bear Week in late September offers a unique spectacle: bears at their absolute roundest, packing on the final pounds before hibernation. If you can't make the journey, the entire event is streamed live through Explore.org's bear cams, so you can vote and watch from anywhere with an internet connection.
What's Next: The Road to the 2026 Crown
With voting set for September 22 through 29, 2026, all eyes are on whether 32 Chunk can repeat or whether a new heavyweight will emerge from the Brooks River. The bracket reveal is already generating buzz on social media under the hashtag #FatBearWeek, and fans are already printing out their brackets to make picks.
Whether you tune in from a couch or a float plane, Fat Bear Week is a rare celebration of wildness and resilience — and a reminder that some of the planet's most extraordinary wildlife spectacles are still happening in our own backyard, one salmon at a time.
The Bottom Line: Fat Bear Week 2026 Essentials
- When: September 22–29, 2026, with the final on September 29.
- Where: Brooks River, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska.
- 2025 champion: Bear 32 "Chunk," who returns to defend his title in 2026.
- How to participate: Vote free on Explore.org or watch the live bear cams.
- In person: Fly by float plane from King Salmon to Brooks Camp for the salmon run and viewing platforms.
