Smithsonian Magazine

Meet This Year’s Chonky Champion of Fat Bear Week: Backpack, a Laid-Back 20-Year-Old Male Who’s a ‘Stoic Presence on the River’

The brown bear, who now weighs between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds after fattening up on salmon, earned his nickname as a cub. When he was little, he enjoyed riding on his mom's back as she swam across a r

Fat Bear Week semi-final results: Backpack and Bear #910 advance to final

Only four chunky specimens remain in Fat Bear Week 2026. Two ladies with fascinating backstories, Bear #132 and Bear #910, battle in the first semi-final, while clever big boys Bucky Dent and Backpack face off in the second semifinal.

The Champion of chonk: Backpack takes the 2026 Fat Bear Week crown at Katmai National Park

Bear 89 Backpack defeated Bear 910 by just over 5,000 votes in the Fat Bear Week 2026 final at Alaska's Katmai National Park on Brooks River.
Alaska Public Media

Meet Backpack, Fat Bear Week’s chunky champ

Backpack went from hitching a ride on his mom’s back to cross the Brooks River to winning the hearts of fat bear fans around the world.

Backpack packs on the pounds to win Alaska's Fat Bear title

A brown bear called Backpack was crowned the winner on Tuesday of an annual contest to find the public's favourite fat bear in Alaska's Katmai National Park. Backpack received 103,344 votes in the

Gentle Giant Backpack Declared Winner Of Alaska's Fat Bear Week

After a week of fierce competition, Backpack emerged victorious as Fat Bear Week champion, the heftiest bear of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.