Backpack is officially the winner of 2026 Fat Bear Week, defeating the offspring of another past champion to claim the title.
The final matchup brought voters down to bear 910 and 89 Backpack in the annual contest celebrating the heaviest bear at Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve. Backpack finished with 103,334 votes, narrowly surpassing 910’s 98,253, according to Explore.org.
Katmai National Park & Preserve credited the public for making the event such a success. “Your votes, your posts, your favorite bear campaigns, and your shared love for Katmai’s wild places turned this week into a collective story shaped by thousands of voices,” the park said in a social media post.
The park added that this year’s contest celebrated resilience among both its bears and the nation, highlighting the landscapes, communities and shared stories that bring people together.
Explore.org/Katmai National Park and Preserve
Backpack was one of 16 bears competing in Fat Bear Week 2026 and quickly emerged as a fan favorite. He won his first two matchups by margins of more than 100,000 votes.
The path to the championship became more competitive in the semifinals. Backpack narrowly defeated 164 Bucky, while 910 advanced comfortably after beating 132.
Backpack’s victory also marked a proud moment for his mother, Holly, the 2019 Fat Bear Week champion.
Explore.org/Katmai National Park and Preserve
According to park officials, Holly brought Backpack to Brooks River at Katmai National Park and Preserve in 2006. The cub earned his nickname because he regularly climbed onto his mother’s back while they crossed the river together.
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Backpack faced a serious setback at about 2 years old when he suffered a major leg injury. Rangers were unsure whether he would survive, but he eventually healed, became independent in 2008 and continued growing into the powerful adult bear who now belongs in the Fat Bear Week Hall of Champions.
How Fat Bear Week 2026 “broke the internet”
This year’s tournament featured a larger bracket than last year’s 12-bear field. Interest was so intense during the opening round that park officials said the contest effectively “broke the internet.”
Voting began Tuesday, Sept. 22, but officials extended the deadline by another day after a surge of bear fans overwhelmed the website. Some participants could not reach the polls “because apparently the internet was not prepared to handle this much fat bear,” Katmai officials joked on social media.
To make a ballot count, voters were required to provide an email address each time they submitted a vote.
Fat Bear Week began in 2014 as a one-day celebration of southwest Alaska’s brown bears. By 2025, the event had grown into an international phenomenon, drawing more than 1.7 million votes from people in over 100 countries, according to the National Park Service.
Past Fat Bear Week winners
The event has produced six champions over its 12-year history, including three bears who have won the competition more than once.
The record-holder is 480 Otis, who won the inaugural contest in 2014 before returning to the top in 2016, 2017 and 2021. One of the older bears at Brooks River, Otis has not been seen since his most recent championship year.
Another prominent champion was 409 Beadnose, who won in 2015 and 2018. She is also 910’s mother. Beadnose was believed to be in her 20s and has not been spotted since her last victory. In the wild, brown bears can live to approximately 30 years.
After becoming a fan favorite for several years, 435 Holly made history in 2019 as the first champion since the event began who was not Otis or Beadnose.
The other repeat winners are 747, who took the title in 2020 and 2022, and 128 Grazer, who won in 2023 and 2024. Grazer is the mother of one of this year’s competitors.
Last year’s champion, 32 Chunk, had a far shorter run this time, exiting the competition in the opening round.
