Fat Bear Week: A Week of Fat Bears
Do you like bears? Do you like to participate in some harmless fun? If you do, then you came to the right place! Running from the 23rd to the 29th of September, Fat Bear Week is an event hosted by the Katmai National Park and Reserve in Alaska in which cameras are put up along the Brooks River to capture the bears living in the reserve. Pictures taken from these cameras in the late summer and early fall are posted on the Fat Bear Week website, and people “vote for the bear [they] believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears,” according to Katmai National Park and Reserve. After 12 years of stalking bears in their natural habitat, Fat Bear Week is still going strong, with millions of people voting on their favorites. 

The Voting Process
In preparation for Fat Bear Week, sixteen adult bears are chosen for voting. Each adult bear is given a number, and sometimes a name! Bear cubs are grouped with their mothers and they are voted on as a family. Then, the bears are put through a single elimination bracket to crown a champion at the end of the week! When asked what bear she thinks should win, Grace Gredler, a student at Hingham High School, said that “Since 32 Chunk was the champion last year, I think that he should win this year too!” Clearly, the more famous and memorable a bear is, the higher chance they will succeed in the bracket. If you want to contribute to the contest, the voting polls are run through this amazing website and a new round is voted on each day. By the time this article is published, you will be able to vote on some of the final rounds of the event!

Why is Fat Bear Week Important?
Believe it or not, Fat Bear Week is surprisingly important for the bears! One of the main reasons Fat Bear Week exists is because of how much food the bears eat in preparation for hibernation in the winter. Since bears don’t eat or drink during hibernation, they have to eat as much food as they can (mostly salmon in the case of the bears living in Katmai) so that they have enough energy stored for their slumber. According to Katmai National park, most bears lose a third of their body weight during hibernation. Additionally, the event acts as a way to grow interest in brown bears and strengthen the community. When asked about why she thinks Fat Bear Week should be more well-known, Olivia Gordon had this to say: “I mean, who doesn’t love voting on which bear’s the fattest? Just imagine going home to your mom and saying, ‘Hey Mom, guess what I did today? My friends and I, we voted on the fattest bear in the country.’ It sounds so bonding!” 

In Summary…
Overall, Fat Bear Week is an awesome event and a great way for people to watch and learn about brown bears! It is so fun to vote on the bears and see who is crowned as the fattest bear! Stay tuned to see who is voted as the champion of Fat Bear Week 2026! (P.S. vote for 32 Chunk!)