Fat Bear Week Champion
Surviving Bear 89 Wins 2026 Fat Bear Week After Dramatic Comeback
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Bear 89, known as Backpack, won Katmai National Park and Preserve’s 2026 Fat Bear Week, narrowly defeating Bear 910 by about 5,000 votes. More than 2.3 million votes were cast worldwide in the bracket-style contest, which celebrates bears’ summer weight gain as they build fat reserves for winter hibernation. The 20-year-old bear, nicknamed for riding on his mother Holly’s back as a cub, overcame a serious leg injury early in life and made a dramatic comeback in the semifinals. Launched in 2014, the event has grown into a major online attraction that supports conservation awareness and research.
Key Points
1
Backpack trailed Bucky in Monday’s semifinal before a late surge carried him to victory by roughly 3,000 votes—the first time organizers had seen a bear come from behind to win a semifinal.
2
The contest’s opening-day rush overwhelmed its website on September 22. Katmai joked, “THE BEARS HAVE BROKEN THE INTERNET. Literally,” and Explore.org reported its biggest opening-day turnout ever and extended voting.
3
Backpack’s opponent, Bear 910, is the daughter of 409 Beadnose, a former Fat Bear Week champion.
4
The 2026 bracket began with 16 adult brown bears divided into four groups: mother bears, single females, sub-adults and adult males. Last year’s champion, Bear 32 (Chunk), was eliminated in the first round by newcomer Bear 164 (Bucky Dent).
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