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Heavy is the bear that uses the crown.
Image: Popular Science composite, explore.org
A brand-new fat bear head uses the crown. Bear # 89 Backpack is formally the champ of Fat Bear Week 2026. Knapsack beat Bear # 910 in the last round of the bracket-style competitors where bear lovers from worldwide can vote online for their preferred chunky bear in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Knapsack took the title from in 2015’s champ, Bear # 32(Chunk). Piece lost to fishing ace and Katmai beginner Bear # 164 (Bucky Dent) in Round 1, Part 2 on September 24.
Bear # 89 got his really proper label from his routine of riding his mom’s back through the Brooks River as a cub. That mother bear is Katmai legend and previous Fat Bear Week champ, Bear # 435 (Holly)
He is 20.5 years of ages and has actually been among Brooks Falls most constant homeowners. His journey to the adult years was not simple. As a yearling in 2007, he emerged in the spring with a leg injury that avoided him from strolling correctly and put him in threat. Park Rangers feared he may not make it through the season, and bear camera fans even urged park personnel to step in. With aid from his mommy (and no human intervention), Backpack recuperated and has actually grown to an excellent size. According to the personnel, he exhibits a peaceful strength regardless of his enforcing stature, and has actually disappointed hostility towards his peers. Knapsack likewise chooses to hang out a little downstream on his preferred rock.
Knapsack made it to the 2026 finals in among the closest votes in Fat Bear Week history. He beat Bucky Dent in the semi-finals by less than a portion point.
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Meet Bear 89 Backpack
The intense fight of the husky bears started on Tuesday, September 22, with 16 adult brown bears(Ursus arctosseparated into 4 primary groups– mom bears, single women(those who do not presently have cubs ), sub-adults, and men.
The brown bears here go back to Brooks Falls for the salmon migration every year in late June, where audiences can see them on explore.org‘s livestream. There, they will feast to fatten up for the long winter season ahead. By late summer season, the healthy fish will generate and after that start to pass away. The bears will then transfer to the lower Brooks River in September and October to consume the dead and passing away salmon near the river’s mouth.
Consuming all of this salmon is essential since the heftier the bear, the much better possibility they will endure their long winter season hibernation. In spite of being the poster types for winter season hibernation, bears are not truly “deep hibernators,” the manner in which squirrels, bats, and bees are. Rather, bears go into a state called torpor– an uncontrolled state mostly activated by absence of food. Throughout torpor, bears depend on kept fat reserves for energy. A torpid bear’s consuming, drinking, and waste functions will likewise stop, as its body metabolizes these shops it placed on over the summertime.
The bears are heading into torpor and this year’s competitors is over, however there is still time to take full advantage of on assisting Katmai’s bears by contributing to Katmai Conservancy’s Otis FundCalled after four-time Fat Bear Week winner Bear # 480 (Otis)the fund supports Katmai National Park’s research study, preservation, and academic outreach programs. All contributions made by Saturday, October 3 will be matched by explore.orgthe company that runs the popular Katmai bear livestreams.
Congrats to Backpack, a deserving winner of Fat Bear Week 2026. We’ll see you in the spring, bears.
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