Fat Bear Week: Past and Present

 
a fluffy brown bear stands in gently rippling water next to a gravel bar.
Bears like 854 Divot, 2022 Fat Bear contestant pictured here, spend all spring and summer fueling up for their long hibernation.

Photo courtesy of K. Moore

 
 

How Fat Bear Week Came About

The first Fat Bear Week wasn’t a week at all. In 2014, then Park Ranger Mike Fitz was scrolling through comments on the explore.org live feed of Brooks Falls. Fitz saw a bearcam fan post two images of the same bear- one from June and one from September. Fitz was shocked at the difference and started to brainstorm a way to highlight the immense changes a bear goes through from early summer to late summer. Fitz and other rangers then decided to host a one-day event. Fat Bear Tuesday was held on September 30 and votes were cast with likes on Facebook.

The first full-bodied Fat Bear Week took place October 7 through 13, 2015. Since then, Fat Bear Week has ballooned along with the bears’ body mass and votes are cast on fatbearweek.org. Now, Fat Bear Week is an international sensation, garnering participation from over 1 billion people from more than 100 countries. Fat Bear Week is a way to bring joy to the lives of visitors and bear lovers alike and bring it into their own homes. Fat Bear Week allows people to learn about the ecosystems of Katmai National Park and the importance of intact ecosystems to fat, wild bears.
 

Why Fat Matters

For bears, fat equals survival. Fat is the fuel that allows bears to endure winter hibernation, a prolonged period of time where a bear’s metabolic rate drops, and the bears survive off their fat stores. During this time, they may lose up to one-third of their body weight as they rely solely on their fat reserves. In the Brooks River area of Katmai National Park, bears gorge on summer’s bounty in their attempt to eat a winters worth of food in about six months. Large bears can gain a few hundred pounds in fat before they retire to their winter dens.

At Katmai, bears are drawn to the large number of salmon readily available from roughly late June through September. Salmon have long since been the lifeblood of the area, supporting Katmai's people, bears and other animals. Fat bears exemplify the richness of this area, a wild region that is home to more brown bears than people and the largest, healthiest runs of sockeye salmon left on the planet.
 

Past Fat Bear Week Champions

Note: If you or your device are struggling to use the photo sliders below, please visit the Fat Bear Week Hall of Champions flickr album.
 

2024 Champion: 128 Grazer

a light brown bear of a modest weight turns left while standing among sticks. a light brown bear of a modest weight turns left while standing among sticks.

Left image
Credit: NPS / T. Carmack

Right image
Credit: Courtesy M. Carenza

 

2023 Champion: 128 Grazer

a light brown bear of modest weight walks through shallow waters. a light brown bear of modest weight walks through shallow waters.

Left image
Credit: Courtesy N. Boak

Right image
Credit: NPS / F. Jimenez

 

2022 Champion: 747

a dark brown bear of modest weight stands in very shallow waters next to a seagull. a dark brown bear of modest weight stands in very shallow waters next to a seagull.

Left image
Credit: Courtesy C. Rohdenburg

Right image
Credit: NPS / L. Law

 

2021 Champion: 480 Otis

a skinny, light-brown bear standing in gently rippling water. a skinny, light-brown bear standing in gently rippling water.

Left image
Credit: Courtesy N. Boak

Right image
Credit: NPS / C. Spencer

 

2020 Champion: 747

A dark brown bear that is already, honestly, quite fat. A dark brown bear that is already, honestly, quite fat.

Left image
Credit: NPS / N. Boak

Right image
Credit: NPS / N. Boak

 

2019 Champion: 435 Holly

 
a humungous light brown bear walks on a gravel bar.

NPS / L. Carter

 

2018 Champion: 409

 
a very fat brown bear sits on a shoreline by a river.

NPS / A. Ramos

 

2017 Champion: 480 Otis

 
an enormous brown bear stands in a river next to an algae-covered rockface.

NPS Photo

 

2016 Champion: 480 Otis

 
an extremely girthy brown bear with a lighter brown nose and ears sits in foamy waters beside a riverbank.

NPS Photo

 

2015 Champion: Beadnose

 
a gargantuan dark brown bear walks on a gravel road beside a forest. Text reads: Fat Bear Week Heavyweight Champion 409 Beadnose."

NPS Photo

 

2014 Champion: 480 Otis

 
a dark brown bear sits in the foamy waters of a rushing river. text reads: 480 otis september 19, 2014.

NPS Photo

 

Past Fat Bear Junior Champions

Every year, an adolescent bear also walks away with a fat bear crown of their own.
 

2024 Champion: 910's Adopted Cub

 
a young, light brown bear with lots of fat.
 

2023 Champion: 808's Cub

a scruffy, dark brown bear cub stands over bright green grasses. a scruffy, dark brown bear cub stands over bright green grasses.

Left image
Credit: NPS / T. Carmack

Right image
Credit: NPS / F. Jimenez

 

2022 Champion: 909's Yearling

a thin, light brown bear walks through shallow, reedy waters and is backlit by golden sunlight. a thin, light brown bear walks through shallow, reedy waters and is backlit by golden sunlight.

Left image
Credit: Courtesy L. Law

Right image
Credit: Courtesy L. Law

 

2021 Champion: 132's Cub

a lean, dark brown bear cub stands amid white flowers. a lean, dark brown bear cub stands amid white flowers.

Left image
Credit: NPS / C. Spencer

Right image
Credit: NPS / C. Spencer

 

Learn more about fat bears

Last updated: September 10, 2025

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