Gentle giant Backpack wins Alaska’s Fat Bear Week
A brown bear named Backpack has won Alaska’s annual Fat Bear Week contest, securing over 100,000 votes. The event, now in its 12th year, highlights the resilience of the brown bear population in Katmai National Park.
Why it matters
The event serves as an educational platform to raise public awareness about wildlife conservation and ecosystem health.
The contest, which is in its 12th year, celebrates the resilience of the 2,200 brown bears that live in the preserve on the Alaska Peninsula.
x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info This image from video provided by explore.org shows a brown bear known as "Backpack," officially named Bear 89, wading through Brooks River on Sept. 8, 2026, in the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. [explore.org via AP] By AP Published On 30 Sep 2026 30 Sep 2026 After a week of fierce competition, Backpack emerged victorious as Fat Bear Week champion, the heftiest bear in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The nonprofit running the longstanding contest announced on Tuesday that the bear, known for his pacifist nature, was the winner with more than 100,000 votes, giving him a close win over Bear 910 with just over 50 percent of the poll.
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