Fat Bear Week Day 1: It’s a fight of the mothers and single women

On the first day of Fat Bear Week, 8 difficult women square off. You’ve seen them on the explore.org electronic camera at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, safeguarding their cubs, fishing for meals, and mixing households. Who’s contending on Day 1 of Fat Bear Week? Let’s fulfill the bears.

Update, September 22, 3:35 pm EDT: Due to frustrating varieties of individuals attempting to access the Fat Bear Week website, explore.org has actually experienced interruptions because voting opened previously today. They are presently dealing with dealing with the problems.

Bear # 132 and cubs vs. Bear # 284 and cubs

Mother Bear # 132 boasts among Fat Bear Week’s a lot of engaging stories. She showed her resiliency this summertime after among her spring cubs separated from the household. Bear # 132 emerged this year with 3 spring cubs, her 4th recognized litter. Around mid-July, among her cubs in some way wound up by itself and was later on spotted roaming near the Brooks River unaccompanied. The cub attempted approaching other bear households, just to be repelled or neglected.

Cubs without a mom’s defense face numerous threats– attacks from other bears, hunger, and more dangerous dangers. Bear # 132’s cub handled to make it through and was reunited with its household after numerous days ambling alone. This is Bear 132’s very first look at Fat Bear Week.

Mom Bear # 284 (aka Electra) becomes part of a bear family tree that teaches their offspring a creative fishing design. Electra’s mom utilized to stand and leave into the water when she was fishing, and Electra and among her adult offspring (Bear # 901) fish the exact same method.

Electra was born in 2008 to Bear # 708 (Amelia), who was most likely born to Bear # 468 (Reggie). Rangers initially found her in 2011 as a subadult. She has actually had at least 3 litters (in 2016, 2020, and 2026). Bears # 901 and # 384 are 2 of her adult offspring who have actually been seen in the park. This year, she had 2 spring cubs who have actually been identified with her several times over the summer season. Bear # 284 made her Fat Bear Week launching in 2023.

Bear # 806 vs. Bear # 901

Bear # 806 was at the center of a stunning story this summertime: She assaulted and eliminated an unassociated spring cub near Brooks River on July 28. The live-cams recorded the young brown bear cub being eliminated and consumed by # 806 as her spring cubs searched. The eliminated cub was the kid of Bear # 909, a 10-year-old brown bear. Bear 909 began the season with 2 cubs, however has actually now lost both. (More on her later.)

Bear # 806 had her own 2 cubs with her sometimes of the attack: a 2.5-year-old cub and 1.5-year-old cub. The 2.5-year-old cub, nicknamed”Biggie”(Junior 128), was embraced by Bear # 806 previously this spring after being deserted by her mom, two-time Fat Bear Week champ Grazer. Bear # 806’s cubs were seen communicating with the cub prior to the attack. After pursuing and eliminating the cub, Bear # 806 was seen eating the cub’s body. Park rangers think that this was the very first recorded case of infanticide by a female adult that’s occurred at Brooks River. This is Bear # 806’s very first time contending in Fat Bear Week.

Bear # 901 was initially determined in 2018 as a 2.5 years of age subadult. She stands out at loading on pounds in the lead as much as the long winter season.” 901 easily attains a level of fatness above that of numerous other bears, so she’s well placed to make it through winter season and support the development of her cubs,”explore.org composes

Regardless of her abilities at plumping up herself and her cubs, she has experience loss. No cubs from her very first litter in 2023 made it through and she lost among her 2026 cubs previously this summer season. In 2025’s Fat Bear Week, she lost in the 2nd round to ultimate winner Chunk.

Bear # 909 vs. Bear # 428

As pointed out previously, Bear # 909 belonged to Katmai’s the majority of stunning stories this summer season. On July 28, she lost her just enduring 2026 cub in an attack by Bear # 806. Bear # 909 began the season with 2 cubs with her very first being lost in unidentified scenarios before the death of her 2nd cub. After the attack, she was seen near where the occurrence happened, repeling other bears.

“She showed her durability in the face of loss by browsing the remainder of the summer season with decision and ability,”explore.org states of 909.”The effort is shown in her abundant body fat.”

She is the offspring Bear # 409 Beadnose, a two-time Fat Bear Week champ( 2015 and 2018), and sibling to 910, who is likewise contending this year. Audiences can identify her blonde ears versus a dark brown coat. She made her Fat Bear Week launching in 2025.

Bear # 428 aka Studious is likewise the offspring of a two-time Fat Bear Week champ, Grazer( Bear # 128), who took the crown back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. With a strong mom to secure her, she found out to fish at a few of the Brooks River’s a lot of prime areas. She was provided the informal label of Studious by bear web cam fans who noted her appearance of decision while fishing with her mommy. This will be her very first year completing in Fat Bear Week

Bear # 131 vs. Bear # 910

As a cub, Bear # 131 made the label Marshmallow for her light fur color. She’s toasted up a bit and now at age 8.5 appears a lighter brown shade. She has actually not been observed with any litters of cubs.

” Reproduction in brown bears is sluggish, even when all of the essential situations line up,”explore.org composes of 131″With each year, nevertheless, 131 has actually grown bigger and her fishing abilities have actually enhanced. She appears this September to be proportionally fatter than she has actually ever been. Cubs might be in 131’s future.” This will be her launching Fat Bear Week.

It’s a household affair for Bear # 910, which might be mean sibling vs. sis in the next round of ballot, if both 910 and sis 909 advance. That would be fascinating thinking about the remarkable household characteristics of the duo.

In 2023, 910 mixed her household with her sis Bear # 909’s household. While doing so, she embraced her sibling’s 2.5-year-old female yearling cub (a 1- to 2-year-old cub still with its mom), while she herself had a spring cub (a first-year cub that was born over the winter season and emerges in the spring). Adoptions like these are remarkably uncommon in the wild, and it is thought to be just the 2nd such adoption at Katmai. She made her Fat Bear Week launching in 2025.

Ballot for Fat Bear Week starts on Tuesday, September 22 in between 12-9pm EDT (9am-6pm PDT, 8am-5pm AKDT) at explore.orgThe winner will be crowned on Tuesday, September 29.