Fat Bear Week is Back, and Here’s How You Can Get Involved – Sept. 23-30

It’s one of the quirkiest and most beloved competitions in the country...

Fat Bear Week at Katmai National Park in Alaska!  

Fat Bear Week? Yes, Fat Bear Week. It started out as a fun way to showcase the bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska, and it has slowly grown into a worldwide event. Think of it like March Madness, but for bears...  

Some of the biggest bears in the world make their homes near Brooks River in Katmai National Park. These Alaskan brown bears spend the summer months bulking up on salmon and other food, packing on the pounds to survive the long, harsh winter ahead. By October, they’re round, massive, and ready for hibernation, which makes it the perfect time for a celebration, and to see which bear got the chunkiest before hibernation.  

Just before fall each year, The National Park Service sets up an online bracket competition featuring head-to-head match ups of these big bears, and each day people from all over the world can go online and vote for their favorite bear based on size, transformation, or just sheer personality. The winners move on until one is crowned the fattest bear of them all! 

Katmai also does a neat thing where they team up with the nonprofit group Explore.org to take Fat Bear Week beyond the online bracket, and into the classroom with a special educational program!

Teachers across the country can register their students for “Fat Bear Junior,” a kid-friendly version of the tournament. Instead of voting for the massive adult bears, students learn about younger bear cubs and how they’re preparing for hibernation.

Katmai also offers live bear cams, lesson plans, and interactive talks with park rangers so classrooms can see these animals in real time and better understand the ecosystem they depend on. The curriculum ties into science topics like habitats, food webs, and animal adaptations, making Fat Bear Week a fun way to sneak some biology into the classroom!

This year, the bears are looking to beat 2-time champion Grazer, who won the competition in 2023 and 2024. Will he be dethroned as Alaska’s fattest bear? It’s up to you to decide! 

Beyond the laughs and memes, Fat Bear Week highlights something serious: survival. For brown bears, packing on the pounds before winter, equals life.

The more weight they gain before hibernation, the better their chances of making it through the winter and raising cubs in the spring. It’s also a chance for the public to connect with wildlife conservation in a fun, interactive way! Here’s where you can find more information and get voting! The bracket gets underway on September 23, running until the 30th between 12 - 9  p.m. Eastern Time, and 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pacific Time. VOTE HERE!

Whether you’re rooting for a returning champ or an underdog cub that packed on the pounds, Fat Bear Week is about more than just who’s the biggest. It’s a reminder of the resilience of wildlife, and a celebration of nature at its fluffiest!