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CultureFading · day 7

Fat Bear Week 2026 opens voting with record bear families in the bracket

Katmai National Park's 12th annual contest pits 16 brown bears, including defending champ Chunk, in single-elimination voting through Sept. 29.

newest coverage 18h agosummary written 2d ago58 pieces7.2k likes & upvotes64 comments YouTubeNewswiresMastodonGoogle NewsHacker NewsBlueskyRedditX

What to know

  • The 12th annual Fat Bear Week runs September 22–29 at Katmai National Park's Brooks River, a single-elimination public vote among 16 brown bears.
  • For the first time the bracket includes bear-family divisions, reflecting a record 19 families and 37 cubs at Brooks River this summer.
  • Defending champion Chunk (Bear 32) returns and opens against rising contender Bucky.
  • Voting happens via explore.org, one vote per email per matchup, with last year's contest drawing over 1.7 million votes from 100 countries.

“Without salmon, there would be no Fat Bear Week. They’re amazing creatures in their own right, and they are the keystone of the ecosystem.”

Mike Fitz, Explore.org naturalist · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 17

Chunk (Bear 32) Defending Fat Bear Week championMark Sturm Katmai National Park superintendentMike Fitz Explore.org resident naturalist, Fat Bear Week co-creatorBucky Contestant bear, described as a rising star

Fat Bear Week 2026 opens voting with record bear families in the bracket
Guardian Environment

How it unfolded 5 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideosposts

Peak 11 pieces in two hours at Sep 22, 8 AM; 58 pieces over 8 days (40 articles · 2 videos · 16 posts) Sep 16, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 video — YouTube 1Sep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 video — YouTube 1Sep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Sep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — 5 pieces · 5 articles — Google News 5Sep 18, 6 PM — 5 pieces · 5 articles — Google News 5Sep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 19, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 21, 12 PM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Google News 2, Newswires 1Sep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 21, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 6 AM — 6 pieces · 5 articles · 1 post — Google News 4, Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 22, 8 AM — 11 pieces · 9 articles · 2 posts — Google News 7, Newswires 2, Mastodon 1, +1 moreSep 22, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 2 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Sep 22, 4 PM — 5 pieces · 1 article · 4 posts — Bluesky 1, Hacker News 1, Reddit 1, +2 moreSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Yesterday, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quiet 12345
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 6:47 AM ET
  1. background

    Public voting opens for first-round matchups — Voting officially begins Tuesday on explore.org, with CBS News introducing contenders including Backpack and Bucky as the single-elimination rounds get underway through September 29.

  2. 5

    The Hill publishes voting guide as tournament nears

    The Hill outlines how the public can cast ballots as Fat Bear Week 2026 is set to formally begin.

    “For the first time, the bracket includes bear families (mother and cubs), "in recognition of the record high number of bear families (19) and cubs (37) at Brooks River in summer 2026"!”
    — nev@flipping.rocks, Mastodon user · source
    1. 6 outlets Fat Bear Week is back. Meet the heavyweights vying for the title

      first by Global News, 2d ago · also Popular Science, CBS News, The Hill, Alaska Public Media, Channel 3000

      8 more headlines

    • Fat Bear Week is BACK, and both the bears and the competition are THICK. 🐻🍑

      @interiorpress47X1d ago7.0k▲view on X ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 9 posts in this stretch
    • pbsnews.org

      Online voting has begun for Fat Bear Week, the annual contest that pits the rotund residents of Katmai National Park and Preserve against each other for the title of most oversized ursine.

      pbsnews.orgBluesky1d ago233▲view on Bluesky ↗
    • nev@flipping.rocks

      Comrades. IT'S TIME. # FatBearWeek 2026 is upon us. https:// explore.org/fat-bear-week 🐻 For the first time, the bracket includes bear families (mother and cubs), "in recognition of the record high number of bear families (19) and cubs (37) at Brooks River in summer 2026"! Find out about all the contestants here: https://…

      nev@flipping.rocksMastodon2d ago17▲view on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  3. 4

    Fox News lays out full tournament matchups

    Fox News details the 16-bear bracket, noting defending champion Chunk opens against rising contender Bucky on Wednesday, alongside other heavyweights and underdogs.

    1. 1 outlet Fat Bear Week bracket is set: meet the heavyweights, underdogs and defending champ in this year's tournament

      first by Fox News, 3d ago

  4. 1 day quiet
  5. 3

    Katmai unveils 16-bear bracket with first family divisions

    The National Park Service and Explore.org release the full Fat Bear Week bracket, including bear-family matchups for the first time, driven by the record number of families and cubs at Brooks River.

    • pseudonymsupreme@pnw.zone

      Things are looking up. I just found out next week is # FatBearWeek ! Now I can transfer my frustration with # Mariners baseball to a much healthier elation with the seasonal appearance of very fat bears.

      pseudonymsupreme@pnw.zoneMastodon4d agoview on Mastodon ↗
  6. 2

    Guardian details record bear families ahead of tournament

    The Guardian reports the 12th annual Fat Bear Week begins Monday with a record 19 bear families and 37 cubs at Brooks Camp, citing park superintendent Mark Sturm and Explore.org naturalist Mike Fitz on the event's origins and ecological stakes.

    “There are more cubs at Brooks Camp this year than have been seen in a long time... A new generation of fat bears is taking shape, and they’re off to a strong start.”
    — Mark Sturm
  7. 1 day quiet
  8. 1

    NBC News reports Fat Bear Week's return

    NBC News broadcasts a segment previewing the return of internet voting to crown Katmai's chunkiest bear ahead of hibernation.

    1. 13 outlets Fat Bear Week: Which bear has put on the most weight?

      first by BBC, 2d ago · also CBS News, The Independent, The Times, Outside Magazine, Denver Post, Mercury News +6

      9 more headlines
    2. 8 outlets Meet the chunky contenders of Fat Bear Week 2026

      first by USA Today, 5d ago · also The Washington Post, Alaska's News Source, The Guardian, Yahoo, Popular Science, KTOO +1

      8 more headlines
    1 more claim →

What people are saying 4 voices from 1 site · best of 10 · verbatim