September 23, 2025 marks two important holidays. Roshhashana, Jewish New Year, Fat Bear Week.
Every fall, rangers in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve track down brown bears that live there, keeping their weight down before they enter winter hibernation. The more pounds a bear packs, the more likely he will survive six months of hibernation.
But the contest isn’t just about which bears gain the most weight.
Rather, according to the National Parks website, it is about “finding bears that best illustrate fat and success.”
The vote will take place in a madness-style bracket in March, with winners of the previous round opposing each other until only one chonker remains. There are independent contests, but for Fat Bear Junior and Young Bears, Fat Bear Week is the main event.
“You can vote for a greasy bear, your story touches your heart – it’s up to you,” Naomi Bork, media ranger at Katmai National Park, told CNN’s Polo Sandoval. “The Bears don’t know who you voted for.”
This year’s Ultra Erin harvest includes two winners: 32 chunks, a mammoth man who wants to come back after a broken jaw, and a mammoth man who is a terrifying fisher who won the Fat Bear Week Crown in 2023 and 2024, and whose Cub won the Fat Bear Week Junior title.
Other hopefuls were 503, a promising man who showed an incredible ability to get along with others, a 26-year-old woman who dedicatedly raises the Cubs after losing her previous comb, and a 602 who were more likely to nap in the river and fisherman compared to Homer Simpson and nickname “Frotato.”
Voting begins Tuesday at 9am ET, with winners announced on September 30th.
Ahead of this year’s contest, there are some good news. Bork reports that the Bears had more salmon than ever before to have an east feast on the Brooks River this year.
In addition to voting, Bear Lovers can also contribute to the OTIS Fund. The revenue from the OTIS Fund is directed towards conservation of Katmai National Park and the Reserve, the fourth largest national park in the United States.
It was named in honor of Otis, the famous Chongkster who won the first ever Fat Bear Week title, and once again won the crown in 2016, 2017 and 2021.
“He was our Zen master,” Bork said of Otis. “He caught 42 fish in an hour and was recorded. He deserved to be a champion.”
This year’s 11th year, Fat Bear Week actually began as Tuesday 2014 Fat Bear. Approximately 1,700 voted for their favourite bear for the Park Rangers’ happy surprise.
Katmai staff spurred the event to expand to last a week, adding regular updates, “Champion Halls” and live feeds.
According to Boak, compare it to 2024, when over 1.4 million people from 60 countries voted.
“It’s growing very much,” she said. “Like a bear.”
