Katmai National Park and Preserve will hold its 11th annual "Fat Bear Week" competition from Sept. 23 through Sept. 30, with the public voting online each day from noon to 9 p.m. The National Park Service said the event will livestream roughly a dozen Alaskan brown bears at Brooks River as they fatten up for winter hibernation.
The showdown, which began in 2014 as a one-day contest created by retired park ranger Mike Fitz, expanded into a weeklong event and now includes a cub-focused spinoff, Fat Bear Junior, scheduled for Sept. 18–19. The park said the bracket announcement for the main contest was delayed after a fatal fight between a planned participant and another bear earlier this season.
Park officials encourage viewers to "cheer for the heftiest bears" as competitors accumulate weight ahead of November hibernation. Alaskan brown bears can reach up to about 1,200 pounds at their heaviest and may add roughly four pounds a day during peak feeding, according to the National Park Service. The bears congregate where streams are rich with sockeye salmon, and Brooks River typically remains productive through the end of October.
The competition is observational; scientists and staff do not alter the animals' diets or environments and provide only rough weight estimates based on imagery and prior knowledge of individual animals. The public determines the winner by voting online; the winning bear receives no physical prize. Despite that, some fans place informal bets and follow the livestream closely.
Eight cameras are positioned around the Brooks River area, including one at the falls equipped with an underwater salmon camera to capture fishing activity. The NPS said those feeds allow viewers to watch bears as they rest, fish and interact while building fat reserves for the winter.
Last year’s Fat Bear Week champion was an adult bear known as Grazer 128, who won while also tending a cub. Grazer 128 defeated a contender identified in the bracket as "32 Chunk." The annual competition has become a popular cultural event, drawing attention to Katmai's wildlife and the seasonal dynamics of the region.
Organizers said the public voting windows will be open each day from noon to 9 p.m. Alaska time during the contest week, and that the livestreams and bracket information will be available through the park’s official channels. Fat Bear Week has grown into a fixture on social media and wildlife calendars, offering a noninvasive way for people worldwide to tune into brown bear behavior and the ecological rhythms that drive their annual weight gain.
The park reiterated that all interactions with the animals remain hands-off and that the competition is intended to highlight natural behavior as bears prepare for hibernation. Visitors and viewers are asked to respect park guidance and follow updates from the National Park Service for real-time information during the event.