Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

Backpack Crowned Fat Bear Week Champion

A 20-year-old male brown bear named Backpack has won the annual Fat Bear Week competition in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve. The event celebrates the bears' preparation for winter hibernation.

Backpack, also known as bear 89, secured the title with over 103,000 votes, defeating another bear, 910. He is a familiar sight on the Brooks River, where he has been observed since 2012.

Weighing between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds, Backpack is described as having a calm demeanor and a quiet strength, often patiently fishing for salmon from a rock in the river. He has shown less aggression than many other large male bears.

Fat Bear Week, which began in 2014, highlights the park's estimated 2,200 brown bears and serves as a fundraiser for the Katmai Conservancy. This year's competition saw record-breaking voter turnout, with over 2.5 million votes cast.

The competition emphasizes the importance of the summer salmon run for the bears, allowing them to build significant fat reserves. These fat stores are crucial for their survival during the long winter hibernation, during which they can lose up to a third of their body weight.

The runner-up, 910, is the offspring of a previous Fat Bear Week winner, 409 Beadnose. Park rangers consider all the participating bears winners for successfully preparing for hibernation.

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