Backpack (bear)

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.

Backpack, a large brown bear described as a gentle giant, has been declared the winner of Alaska's Fat Bear Week, the annual contest held at Katmai National Park and Preserve. The competition celebrates the resilience of the roughly 2,200 brown bears living in the preserve, which gorge on salmon ahead of winter hibernation. Fans vote in head-to-head matchups, and the yearly event draws international attention each autumn.

A brown bear known as Backpack has been crowned champion of Fat Bear Week, the annual contest run by Katmai National Park in Alaska that lets fans vote for the bear that has bulked up most ahead of hibernation. The lighthearted competition has grown into a viral internet tradition, drawing huge audiences each autumn.

A bear nicknamed 'Backpack' has won Fat Bear Week, the annual contest celebrating the fattest brown bears as they bulk up for winter hibernation. The chunky winner is drawing attention online, with coverage from BBC News highlighting the lighthearted competition that also raises awareness of bears and their environment.

Fat Bear Week, the annual contest run from Alaska's Katmai National Park that lets the public vote for the bear that has best bulked up for hibernation, has reached its final matchup between Bear 910 and a competitor nicknamed Backpack. The yearly bracket draws wide attention each autumn as fans compare photos of the salmon-fattened brown bears and cheer for their favourites.