‘Fat Bear Week’ Crowns Chunkiest Brown Bear, Who Packed On Pounds Gorging On Salmon All Summer

Fat bear 747 contended for the championship title in Fat Bear Week 2024. Courtesy of National Parks Service

Here on Alaska’s southwest peninsula, the bears are fat, the leaping salmon that they feast on each summer are bountiful, and the staff of Katmai National Park say, “Hurray, what a wildlife success story!”

Thus began a celebration of fat bears in the form of an annual competition to name the fattest bear of all within the park. Inaugurated in 2014, it was dubbed Fat Bear Week and takes place each fall. This year, from Oct. 5 through Oct. 8, voters chose the champion of Fat Bear Week 2024.