Fat Bear Week 2026 Winner: Meet Backpack, Bear 89
Bear 89, known as Backpack, is the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion. The big, easy-going brown bear from Katmai National Park in Alaska beat Bear 910 in the final, about 103,000 votes to 98,000, in a contest so popular the park had to extend voting by a day. His mother, Holly, won the crown in 2019.
Quick Facts
- Winner: Bear 89 "Backpack"
- Runner-up: Bear 910
- Final vote: About 103,000 to 98,000
- Where: Brooks River, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
- Mother: Bear 435 Holly, Fat Bear Week champion 2019
Why Is He Called Backpack?
Holly first brought her cub to Brooks River in 2006. Instead of swimming beside her like most cubs, he climbed onto her back and rode across the river. Rangers and webcam viewers called him Backpack, and the name stuck.
Around age two he hurt his leg badly. He recovered, became independent in 2008 and grew into one of the largest bears on the river.
How the 2026 Contest Went
Sixteen bears competed this year, up from twelve the year before. Backpack won his first two rounds by more than 100,000 votes each, edged past Bear 164 Bucky in the semifinal, then beat 910 in the final. Last year's champion, Bear 32 Chunk, went out in the first round. Park officials said the expanded bracket nearly broke the internet.
What Is Fat Bear Week?
Every fall, Katmai National Park and its partner Explore.org post before-and-after photos of the brown bears that fish Brooks River. Fans vote in head-to-head rounds for the bear that looks best prepared for winter. It is a celebration of how much fat a brown bear can pack on in a single summer of salmon, and of a healthy salmon run.
Why Do the Bears Get So Fat?
Brown bears do not eat during hibernation, so the fat they store in summer and fall has to carry them through months in the den. At Brooks River, sockeye salmon swimming upstream to spawn give them one of the richest feasts in the wild. A bear that looks huge in October is a bear that is ready for winter.
Past Fat Bear Week Champions
- 480 Otis: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021
- 409 Beadnose: 2015, 2018
- 435 Holly: 2019 (Backpack's mother)
- 747: 2020, 2022
- 128 Grazer: 2023, 2024
- 32 Chunk: 2025
- 89 Backpack: 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Fat Bear Week 2026?
Bear 89, nicknamed Backpack, beat Bear 910 in the final.
Where can I watch the Fat Bear Week bears?
On the free Brooks River bear cams run by Explore.org with Katmai National Park.
Is Backpack related to a past winner?
Yes. His mother is Bear 435 Holly, the 2019 champion.
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Sources
- CBS News: 2026 results, Backpack's history and past champions
- Fox Weather: the 2026 final
- Katmai National Park and Preserve: the park and its bears
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Cover photo: Christoph Strässler via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.