Backpack wins Alaska’s Fat Bear Week in close final

A brown bear named 89 Backpack has won Alaska’s Fat Bear Week, narrowly defeating bear 910 in the final round of the annual public vote at Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Both CBS News and the BBC reported that 910 received 98,253 votes, but they gave slightly different totals for Backpack: CBS News, citing Explore.org, reported 103,334, while the BBC reported 103,344. Either tally put Backpack ahead by just over 5,000 votes.

The contest featured 16 bears this year, up from 12 last year. Backpack won his first two matchups by more than 100,000 votes each, according to CBS News, before edging past 164 Bucky in the semifinals. Bear 910 advanced to the final by defeating 132.

Backpack is the son of 435 Holly, who won Fat Bear Week in 2019. Park officials say Holly brought him to the Brooks River in 2006. His name comes from a habit he had as a cub: climbing onto his mother’s back when she waded through the river.

His path to the title was not assured. Backpack suffered a significant leg injury at about 2 years old, and rangers questioned whether he would survive, CBS News reported. He recovered, became independent in 2008 and grew into a large adult bear. His park biography credits his “quiet toughness” with helping him “find his niche alongside the biggest bears at Brooks River.”

The other finalist also has a Fat Bear Week champion in her family. Bear 910 is the daughter of 409 Beadnose, who won in 2015 and 2018. According to the BBC, 910 raised both her biological cub and an adopted niece. One supporter wrote on the park’s Facebook page, “I just feel like 910 really put in the work this year.”

The competition began in 2014 as a one-day event showcasing bears in southwest Alaska. Voting opened Sept. 22 this year, but heavy traffic left some people unable to access the polls, prompting officials to extend the first round by a day. The park joked that “the internet was not prepared to handle this much fat bear.” More than 1.7 million votes came from over 100 countries in the 2025 contest.

Fat Bear Week draws attention to the weight bears gain before winter. “During hibernation, bears do not eat or drink and lose one-third of their body weight. Their winter survival depends on accumulating ample fat reserves before entering the den,” organizers wrote, according to the BBC. Backpack’s latest weight has not been released.

The National Park Service thanked the 16 bears who “involuntarily participated.” Last year’s champion, 32 Chunk, was eliminated in the first round this year.