Backpack, also known as Bear 89, won Fat Bear Week 2026, edging Bear 910 in the final vote. The Katmai National Park contest celebrates how brown bears change as they feast on salmon and build fat reserves for winter; it is a public vote, not a scientific weigh-in.
Who won Fat Bear Week 2026?
Backpack, a male brown bear identified as Bear 89, was named the 2026 champion. Bear 910 finished second. The National Park Service’s annual tournament ran September 22–29, 2026, with a 16-bear, single-elimination bracket and online public voting.
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The Associated Press reported that Backpack received just over half of more than 100,000 votes in the final poll. Alaska Public Media reported that his margin over Bear 910 was about 5,000 votes. These figures describe the final matchup, not the full event.
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Alaska Public Media reported that the 2026 contest drew more than 2.3 million votes overall, attributing the total to officials. That event-wide count is separate from the final poll figures reported by the Associated Press.
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For comparison, the National Park Service said in its September 11, 2026 announcement that the 2025 event received more than 1.7 million votes from more than 100 countries. That is the turnout for the 2025 contest, reported in 2026.
Who is Backpack, and why is he called that?
Backpack is the son of Holly, herself a former Fat Bear Week champion. His nickname dates to cubhood, when he would climb onto his mother’s back as they swam in the Brooks River. The Associated Press reported that Holly introduced him to the river in 2006.
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Alaska Public Media reported that Backpack was 20 years old in 2026. Katmai ranger Sarah Bruce estimated his weight at 1,000–1,200 pounds; that is a ranger’s estimate, not a scale measurement made for the contest. Bruce also noted that viewers have been able to follow him on the live cams since they were installed in 2012.
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What does Fat Bear Week celebrate?
Fat Bear Week highlights the seasonal transformation of Katmai’s brown bears as they eat salmon and accumulate fat reserves that help them survive winter. Salmon begin returning to the Brooks River in late June, according to the Associated Press, and bears feed heavily before their winter fast.
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The bracket makes that change visible and gives viewers individual bears and their stories to follow. But the result reflects public voting, not a scientific score: bears are not weighed as part of the contest, and Backpack’s title does not establish that he was the heaviest bear in Katmai.
When is Fat Bear Week, and where can you watch?
The 2026 tournament was scheduled for September 22–29. The National Park Service announced that the bracket would be revealed September 18, voting would pause over the weekend, and the champion would be crowned September 29. The event began in 2014 and is a partnership among the National Park Service, Explore.org and Katmai Conservancy.
To watch bears at Brooks Falls, visit Explore.org’s Brooks Falls bear cam. The live view is also a way to get familiar with the bears outside the tournament.
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