Fat Bear Week 2026 runs September 22 through September 29, giving wildlife fans across the country a week to vote for the chunkiest, most winter-ready brown bear at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. The annual online tournament pits sixteen bears against each other in a single-elimination bracket, and this year’s lineup is the largest the event has ever featured.
Katmai National Park Superintendent Mark Sturm confirmed the dates in an official park release, noting that this season has brought an unusually large number of cubs to Brooks Camp. That surge in young bears has shaped much of the excitement heading into this year’s competition.
Fat Bear Week 2026 Key Dates
The tournament follows a clear schedule this year, and fans who want to participate should mark their calendars early.
- Bracket reveal: September 18, 2026
- Voting window: September 22 through September 29, 2026
- Champion crowned: September 29, 2026
- Otis Fund donation match period: September 22 through October 3, 2026
Voting takes place once daily during the tournament window, with fans casting ballots through the official Fat Bear Week website. Each matchup pairs two bears, and the one with more votes moves on to the next round until only one bear remains.
Why Fat Bear Week Happens in Late September
Katmai’s brown bears spend their summers gorging on sockeye salmon at Brooks Falls, building the fat reserves they will rely on through a long Alaskan winter. Once bears enter hibernation, they stop eating and drinking entirely and can lose roughly a third of their body weight before spring. The heavier a bear is going into winter, the better its odds of surviving until the next salmon run.
Late September marks the point when most of Katmai’s bears have reached what park naturalists call “peak fat.” That timing is why Fat Bear Week always lands in this narrow late-summer-to-early-fall window rather than any fixed calendar date.
A Bigger Bracket Than Ever
This year’s tournament features sixteen adult bears, up from the twelve that typically competed in past seasons. Katmai park staff selected the lineup from more than 100 bears identified along Brooks River this summer, prioritizing animals that showed up early in the season and reappeared later so rangers could capture clear before-and-after comparisons of their weight gain.
Five of the sixteen contenders this year are mothers who spent the summer raising cubs while still packing on pounds of their own, a detail organizers say reflects just how demanding motherhood is for Katmai’s bear population.
Chunk Returns to Defend His Title
Bear 32, known to fans as “Chunk,” enters this year’s competition as the reigning champion. Chunk claimed the 2025 crown after a difficult year that included a broken jaw, likely suffered in a fight with another bear back in June of last year. Despite the injury, he adapted his fishing technique and still managed to bulk up enough to win.
His 2025 victory came after two previous runner-up finishes, and he ultimately defeated bear 856 in the championship round by a margin of 96,350 votes to 63,725. First identified at Katmai back in 2007, Chunk is one of the park’s most recognizable and long-tracked bears.
Whether Chunk can repeat as champion remains one of the biggest storylines of this year’s event, especially since park rangers reported he was seen less frequently at the river this summer compared to previous years.
New Faces in the 2026 Field
Among the newcomers generating buzz is Bear 89, nicknamed “Backpack.” The nickname dates back to an early injury that forced him, as a cub, to ride on his mother’s back rather than walk on his own. His mother was Holly, a former Fat Bear Week champion herself, giving Backpack a notable family pedigree heading into his first appearance in the tournament.
Other contenders drawing attention this season include bears 909 and 910, both daughters of former champion 409 “Beadnose.” Bear 909 lost her spring cubs this year but continued building fat reserves throughout the summer. Her sister, 910, has been raising her own cub while also caring for an adopted niece, and has drawn interest from fellow contenders at the falls.
How the Voting Works
Fat Bear Week operates as a single-elimination, head-to-head bracket. Each day during the competition window, fans log on to the official tournament site and vote for the bear they believe best represents fatness and survival readiness in that day’s matchup. The bear with the higher vote total advances, while the other is eliminated from the tournament.
Voters are asked to submit an email address to register their choice, and the system counts one vote per email per matchup. Results update on the site as votes come in, and fans can track which bears are advancing throughout the week.
No Junior Bracket This Year
In past seasons, Katmai has run a separate “Fat Bear Junior” bracket that pitted cubs against one another. For 2026, organizers have folded that concept into the main event instead, allowing cubs to compete as part of family units alongside their mothers in the primary bracket rather than in a standalone competition.
A Tradition That Started Small
Fat Bear Week began in 2014 as a modest, single-day event with roughly 1,700 votes cast. By the following year, it had already grown into a full weeklong bracket. The competition is now a joint effort between the National Park Service, Explore.org, and the Katmai Conservancy, and it regularly draws well over a million votes from fans in more than 100 countries.
Recent champions include Bear 480 “Otis,” who holds the record with four titles, his last coming in 2021 before his death around 2024. Bear 747 won the title in 2022, and Bear 128 “Grazer” claimed back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024 before Chunk’s win last year.
Supporting Bear Conservation
Alongside the voting, Katmai Conservancy is running its annual Otis Fund donation drive, named in honor of the four-time champion. Contributions made between September 22 and October 3 will be matched, with proceeds supporting ongoing bear research and habitat conservation work at Katmai.
Where to Watch
Fans who want to scout contenders before voting, or simply enjoy the show, can stream live bear cams through Explore.org, which broadcasts directly from Brooks Falls throughout the season. The footage lets viewers watch bears fish, interact, and compete for prime fishing spots in real time, offering a firsthand look at exactly what has made Fat Bear Week such a beloved late-summer tradition.
With sixteen bears, a stacked field of returning champions and rising contenders, and a defending titleholder looking to make history, this year’s tournament promises to be one of the most closely watched yet.
Who’s your pick for this year’s fattest bear? Drop your vote in the comments and let us know which contender you’re rooting for.