Backpack has been crowned the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion after narrowly defeating bear 910 in the final of the annual Katmai National Park and Preserve contest.
Backpack received 103,334 votes, compared with 98,253 for 910, as voters chose the chunkiest bear at the Alaskan park.
The competition began with 16 bears, but Backpack emerged as an early favourite, winning his first two rounds by margins of more than 100,000 votes. He then edged past 164 Bucky in the semi-finals, while 910 comfortably defeated 132.
Backpack’s victory continues a family tradition. His mother, Holly, won Fat Bear Week in 2019, becoming the first champion who was neither 480 Otis nor 409 Beadnose.
Park officials said Holly introduced Backpack to the Brooks River in 2006. He was named Backpack because he would climb on to his mother’s back as they waded through the water.
When he was about two years old, Backpack suffered a serious leg injury and rangers questioned whether he would survive. He recovered, became independent in 2008 and later grew into a large adult bear capable of winning a place in the competition’s Hall of Champions.
Fat Bear Week voting overwhelms website
This year’s contest attracted such heavy interest that voting had to be extended by an extra day. Katmai officials said bear lovers had overwhelmed the website, leaving some people unable to access the polls.
“Apparently the internet was not prepared to handle this much fat bear,” officials said in a social media post.
Voters were required to enter an email address each time they cast a ballot. The event, which began in 2014 as a one-day showcase of bears in south-west Alaska, attracted more than 1.7 million votes from more than 100 countries in 2025.
Katmai National Park and Preserve said the contest had become a shared tradition shaped by the public’s campaigns, posts and affection for the park’s wild places.
Last year’s champion, 32 Chunk, was eliminated in the first round. The most successful bear remains 480 Otis, who won four times, while 128 Grazer has taken the title in the past two years.
