Jennifer Fogle Smith captured a fat bear’s epic waddle on a trail cam, and now the video is going viral as folks enjoy what a successful fishing season looks like for grizzlies in Alaska. The footage, which has more than 4.6 million views, shows the tail end of a chonky grizzly as it walks alongside a lake.
Videos by Outdoors
“Trail cam footage captured this moment of a bear who had a successful fishing season,” wrote Fogle Smith in her Instagram post sharing the video. “This absolute behemoth of a bear is taking a victory lap down the beach, belly jiggling like a badge of honor. Months of salmon feasts, berries, sedges, foraging and naps have paid off — this is peak hibernation prep in motion!”
[RELATED: Meet the 2025 Fat Bear Week Winner—Chunk, ‘King of Chonk’]
“You may not like it, but this is what peak bear performance looks like,” wrote one person in the comments section.
And, in fact, this person is right. Throughout the fall, bears in some parts of the world fatten up in preparation for a long winter sleep, in which they wait out the winter months in a den—their bodies in a state of torpor. They don’t eat or drink until spring.
This bear has done its job.
Watch a fat bear’s waddle on a trail cam here:
Header stock image by 4FR/Getty Images
Best Trail Cameras to Watch Wildlife
- Best Overall: TACRACAM Reveal X Gen 2.0
- Best for Beginners: SPYPOINT LM2
- Best Premium: Cuddeback CuddeLink
- Best Budget: Stealth Cam Browtine
- Best for Birdwatching: Bird Buddy
Learn more about the best trail cams here.
Outdoors.com may earn a commission when you make a purchase through affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
