To quote the National Park Service: “We have a CHONKION!” That’s right, Fat Bear Week 2026 has come to an end, and that means the votes are in, and a victor has been crowned. The winner is “Backpack” (Bear 89). He beat out Bear 910 in the final vote to win the title of Katmai National Park’s fattest brown bear.
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Backpack also beat all 16 of the other brown bears that involuntarily participated in this year’s competition run by Explore.org. In case you haven’t yet heard, Fat Bear Week celebrates the success of brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park as they chunk up before their long winter sleep. This week, fans have been voting for their favorite contestant in several head-to-head elimination rounds, leading to today’s final vote and Backpack’s ultimate victory.
[RELATED: Meet the 2025 Fat Bear Week Winner—Chunk, ‘King of Chonk’]
According to Explore.org, Backpack’s mom is a former Fat Bear Week champion. As a cub, Bear 89 used to climb on his mom’s back as they swam in Brooks River, which led Explore.org livestream viewers to give him the nickname “Backpack.”
See Explore.org’s video highlighting Backpack, the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion below (or watch it here).
The National Park Service also shared a photo of the winning bear. Check it out below:
Header stock image by USO/Getty Images
