Overview
- Voting opened on Sept. 22 and will remain open through Sept. 29 with the 16-bear single-elimination winner due to be announced on Oct. 2.
- Voters decide by comparing before-and-after photos and Explore.org livestreams rather than by weighing animals, so the contest shows bears' seasonal fattening not exact weights.
- Defending champion Chunk (Bear 32) returns to the bracket against a mix of repeat contenders and newcomers including Bucky (Bear 164) and Gully (Bear 903).
- This season features an unusually large number of cubs at Brooks Camp and at least one widely noted aggressive incident involving a cub, developments that have shaped media and public interest.
- Organizers use the tournament format and live video to educate the public about hyperphagia — the salmon-driven feeding that builds fat for hibernation — and to raise money for Katmai, after vote totals climbed to roughly 1.7 million in 2025.