Tag

Brown Bears

All articles tagged with #brown bears

wildlife9 days ago•5 min saved

Backpack Wins 2026 Fat Bear Week After Record-Breaking Vote Surge

Brown bear 89, nicknamed 'Backpack,' won the 12th annual Fat Bear Week competition at Katmai National Park in Alaska, defeating female bear 910 by approximately 5,091 votes. The event, which celebrates bears gaining weight before hibernation, saw record participation with over 2.5 million votes cast globally. Backpack, a 20-year-old male and son of 2019 champion Holly, is estimated to weigh 1,200 pounds. The competition, run by Katmai National Park and explore.org, highlights the bears' resilience and preparation for winter, with all participants considered winners for their survival readiness.

via USA Today|

#alaska #brown-bears #fat-bear-week

nature10 days ago

Backpack Claims 2026 Fat Bear Week Crown in Narrow Katmai Vote

Brown bear 89, nicknamed 'Backpack,' won the 12th annual Fat Bear Week competition at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, defeating female bear 910 by approximately 5,000 votes. The contest, which celebrates bears gaining weight before hibernation, drew over 2.3 million global votes. Backpack, a 20-year-old male and son of 2019 champion Holly, is estimated to weigh 1,200 pounds. The event highlights the bears' resilience and preparation for winter, with all participants considered winners for their survival readiness.

via The Guardian|

#alaska #brown-bears #fat-bear-week

nature10 days ago•1 min saved

Backpack Claims 2026 Fat Bear Week Crown in Close Race Against 910

Brown bear 89, known as Backpack, won the 2026 Fat Bear Week competition at Katmai National Park in Alaska, defeating female bear 910 by approximately 5,000 votes. The event, which celebrates bears gaining weight before hibernation, saw record participation with over 2.3 million votes cast globally. Backpack, a 20-year-old male who previously suffered a severe leg injury, is the son of 2019 champion Holly. The competition, run by Katmai National Park and explore.org, highlights the bears' resilience and preparation for winter, with all participants considered winners for their survival readiness.

via CBS News|

#alaska #brown-bears #fat-bear-week

nature10 days ago•414 min saved

Backpack Wins 12th Annual Fat Bear Week in Narrow Final

Brown bear 89, nicknamed 'Backpack,' won the 12th annual Fat Bear Week competition at Alaska’s Katmai National Park. He defeated female bear 910 by a narrow margin of approximately 5,000 votes in a final round that drew over 200,000 ballots. The event, which celebrates bears gaining weight before winter hibernation, saw record participation with more than 2.3 million total votes cast globally.

via NBC News|

#alaska #brown-bears #conservation

wildlife10 days ago•2 min saved

Backpack claims 2026 Fat Bear Week title in narrow vote

Brown bear 89, known as 'Backpack,' won the 12th annual Fat Bear Week competition in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. He defeated female bear 910 in a close final round, securing over 100,000 votes. The event highlights the bears’ preparation for hibernation and supports conservation efforts for the region’s 2,200 brown bears.

via Al Jazeera|

#alaska #brown-bears #conservation

wildlife10 days ago•1 min saved

Backpack Wins 2026 Fat Bear Week After Record-Breaking Online Vote

Brown bear 89, nicknamed 'Backpack,' won the 2026 Fat Bear Week competition at Katmai National Park in Alaska, defeating female bear 910 by approximately 5,000 votes. The event, which celebrates bears gaining weight before hibernation, saw record participation with over 2.3 million votes cast globally. Backpack, a 20-year-old male who previously suffered a severe leg injury, is the son of 2019 champion Holly. The competition, run by Katmai National Park and explore.org, highlights the bears' resilience and preparation for winter, with all participants considered winners for their survival readiness.

via Alaska Public Media|

#alaska #brown-bears #fat-bear-week

nature16 days ago•2 min saved

Fat Bear Week 2026 Introduces Family Units Amid Record Turnout and Controversial Incidents

Fat Bear Week 2026 has launched with a historic twist: for the first time, entire bear families compete as single units in the bracket-style tournament. The event, running from September 22 to 29, features 16 contenders, including five mother-cub groups and 11 solo adults. The competition has drawn massive global attention, with the first day of voting causing technical delays due to unprecedented traffic. While the event serves as a fundraiser for the Katmai Conservancy, the season has also been marked by tragic wildlife incidents, including a rare case of infanticide captured on live cameras.

via Alaska Public Media|

#alaska #brown-bears #exploreorg

environment18 days ago•4 min saved

Katmai's Hefty Contenders Vie for Fat Bear Week Crown

Fat Bear Week returns to Katmai National Park, spotlighting 16 chubby brown bears that fatten up on salmon ahead of winter. Through online voting, fans compare 'before and after' photos to crown the heaviest bear, with mothers balancing cubs and survival as key themes. The event, which began in 2014, has grown into a global spectacle with millions of voters.

via Alaska Public Media|

#brown-bears #environment #fat-bear-week

nature20 days ago•6 min saved

Katmai's Fat Bear Week 2026 Bracket Unveiled: Meet the Contenders

Katmai National Park revealed the Fat Bear Week 2026 bracket on Sept. 18, kicking off the 12th edition slated for Sept. 22–29 (no voting Sept. 26–27). The online, single-elimination tournament features a diverse mix of bears at Brooks River—adult females, subadults and males—battling in head-to-head matchups, with fans voting to crown the fattest bear before winter; notable contenders include 32 Chunk (2025 champion), 164 Bucky Dent, and 151 Walker.

via USA Today|

#brooks-river #brown-bears #fat-bear-week

nature1 year ago•2 min saved

Chunk Crowned 2025 Fat Bear Week Champion in Alaska

'32 Chunk' was crowned the 2025 Fat Bear Week champion at Alaska's Brooks River, winning a week-long voting contest with over 96,000 votes, recognized for his impressive size and resilience despite injuries, exemplifying success in brown bears.

via NBC News|

#32-chunk #alaska #brown-bears

environment1 year ago•2 min saved

Chunk, the 1,200-Pound Bear, Wins Alaska’s Fat Bear Week 2025

Chunk, a brown bear with a broken jaw, won the 2025 Fat Bear Week contest in Alaska's Katmai National Park, after a record salmon run that provided abundant food for the bears. The online competition, which attracts over 1.5 million votes, highlights the bears' impressive fattening process as they prepare for hibernation, with Chunk emerging as the winner despite previous near misses.

via AP News|

#alaska #brown-bears #environment

environment1 year ago•2 min saved

Fat Bear Week Kicks Off with Record-Breaking Chonkiness

Fat Bear Week is an annual competition organized by Katmai National Park where people vote for their favorite overweight bear, highlighting the bears' successful salmon hunting and preparation for hibernation, with past winners like Grazer and contenders like Chunk and 602.

via ScienceAlert|

#alaska #brown-bears #environment

environment1 year ago•2 min saved

Vote Now in Fat Bear Week 2025 at Katmai National Park

Voting has opened for Fat Bear Week, an annual competition in Alaska where bears compete for the title of the fattest, crucial for their winter survival, with online viewers from over 100 countries watching live streams and casting votes to support their favorite bears like Grazer and Chunk.

via BBC|

#brown-bears #environment #fat-bear-week

world1 year ago•2 min saved

Fat Bear Week 2025 Kicks Off at Katmai National Park

Katmai National Park in Alaska is hosting its annual Fat Bear Week, an online competition where the public votes for the fattest brown bear, highlighting the bears' preparation for hibernation and the importance of salmon runs to their survival. The event runs from September 23 to 30, with over a million votes cast last year from around the world.

via The Guardian|

#alaska #brown-bears #fat-bear-week

environment2 years ago•1 min saved

Romania Orders Bear Cull After Fatal Attacks on Hikers

Romania's parliament has approved the culling of nearly 500 brown bears in 2024 following a fatal bear attack on a hiker, citing overpopulation concerns. The decision has sparked criticism from environmental groups who argue that the focus should be on prevention and intervention measures rather than culling.

via The Guardian|

#brown-bears #culling #environment