Backpack (Bear 89)

Bear 89, nicknamed Backpack, has been crowned champion of Fat Bear Week 2026, the annual contest run in Alaska's Katmai National Park that lets the public vote for the brown bear best prepared for hibernation after a summer of gorging on salmon. Fans of the yearly competition are celebrating the winner and sharing results across social media.

Bear 89, nicknamed Backpack, has won Fat Bear Week 2026 at Katmai National Park in Alaska, defeating Bear 910 in the final after edging out Bucky Dent by under 1% in the semifinals. Backpack famously survived a yearling leg injury in 2007 without human help. Fans celebrate the brown bears' dramatic pre-hibernation weight gain.