Bear 409, Fat Bear Week 2018 Champion. (NPS/A. Ramos via SWNS)
By Dean Murray
Hold onto your fish, Fat Bear Week is back.
The much-loved contest pits the brown bears of Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve against each other as they bulk up for winter hibernation.
The US National Park Service (NPS) launched this season's competition on Friday (Sep 5) by highlighting some previous year's winners.
Bear 747, 2020 Fat Bear Week Champion. (NPS/N. Boak via SWNS)
The winner of Fat Bear Week 2024 was Grazer, a mother bear who successfully defended her title for the second consecutive year.
She received over 71,000 votes, more than double the votes of her closest rival, a male bear named Chunk.
NPS said: "Big, bold, and bear-y round: a fat bear champ will soon be crowned!
Holly, Fat Bear Week 2019 Champion. (NPS/N. Boak via SWNS)
"This is how legends are made. Fat Bear Week , the ultimate bracket competition where the public votes for the bear that achieves peak spherical status, is just around the corner!
They confirmed the event will take place from September 23-30, with a "chubby cubby appetizer", Fat Bear Junior, kicking off on September 18-19.
Image 2: Bear 747, Fat Bear Week 2022 Champion. (Lian Law/NPS via SWNS)
NPS added: "From tubby titans to gargantuan gluttons, get ready to cheer for the heftiest bears in Katmai National Park & Preserve’s Brooks River!"
Fat Bear Week has been running since 2014, making 2025 its 11th year of celebrating the fattening efforts of brown bears in Katmai National Park.
NPS said this year's bear bios would be revealed soon.
28 Grazer, Fat Bear Week Champion in 2023 and 2024, pictured in 2023. (NPS/F. Jimenez via SWNS)
WINNERS SINCE 2018:
2024: Bear 128 Grazer
2023: Bear 128 Grazer
2022: Bear 747
2021: Bear 480 Otis
2020: Bear 747
2019: Bear 435 Holly
2018: Bear 409 Beadnose
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.