Overview
- Organizers published the 16-bear single-elimination bracket ahead of the vote, which runs from Sept. 22 through Sept. 29 and will crown the 2026 champion on Sept. 29.
- The field includes four categories—bear families, subadults, single adult females and adult males—so mothers with cubs and younger bears can compete alongside large males.
- Defending champion Bear 32, known as Chunk, returned to Brooks River this year after sustaining a broken jaw in June 2025 and will face several notable challengers including Bear 164 (Bucky) and Bear 151 (Walker).
- Fat Bear Week spotlights hyperphagia, the late-summer feeding period when bears rely on Katmai’s abundant wild sockeye salmon to build fat needed for months-long hibernation.
- The contest is a public outreach event that has grown into a global phenomenon, drawing millions of votes in past years and driving livestream viewership and ecotourism to Katmai while educating people about bear behavior.