Meet Backpack, the Winner of Fat Bear Week 2026

Backpack, called Bear 89, won Alaska's Fat Bear Week on September 30, 2026. He beat Bear 910 in the final with just over half the votes. The contest, now in its 12th year, followed 16 brown bears in Katmai. It celebrates bears eating lots to gain weight for winter sleep, among 2,200 bears on the Alaska Peninsula.