A bulky brown bear who became famous for hitching rides on his mama’s back is the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion.
Backpack, also known as Bear 89, claimed his victory Tuesday evening, a week after the Katmai bears broke the internet as people logged on to vote for their favorite bear. Officials say more than 2.3 million votes were cast this year from all over the world.
Katmai park ranger Sarah Bruce said Backpack has a large following of loyal fans. Backpack beat the other finalist, Bear 910, by roughly 5,000 votes.
“He’s one of the bears that we’ve been able to watch on the live cams since the live cams were put in in 2012,” Bruce said. “He’s a familiar bear. People have watched him his whole life.”
A ‘stoic presence’ on Brooks River
It’s the first time Backpack has been named the chunkiest bear in Katmai National Park and Preserve, but winning runs in the family. His mother, Holly, won the online competition in 2019.
Backpack got his nickname because he loved to climb onto his mom’s back as a young cub when swimming in the Brooks River.
Now, Bruce estimates he weighs between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds. Backpack is 20 years old and some fans declared early on it’d be his year.
“Some of the reasoning I’ve seen people say, ‘We should vote for 89,’ is because he is older, and these other younger bears will still have chances to win,” Bruce said. “I think a lot of people have kind of grabbed onto that idea that maybe this is his only Fat Bear Week, and this is his one chance to win.”
Backpack has gained so much weight over the summer that his before and after photos look like a different bear. Bruce said the color of his fur changes throughout the season.
“In the early summer, he is quite blonde, and then his fur kind of gets darker,” she said. “Most of the bears do go through a transformation, not only in their weight but also in their coat.”
Backpack, Bear 89, has gained a lot of weight since June, according to his Fat Bear Week transition photos.
Backpack has also conquered challenges in his years at Katmai. The park said he overcame a significant leg injury in 2007. It was so intense that park staff and visitors wondered about his survival, but his leg has since healed.
He grew into a large adult and has become a consistent presence at Brooks Falls. He likes to sit on a rock in the middle of the river, potentially to take in the views or avoid cold water as he fishes for salmon.
“Some of the fans will call [it] Backpack or 89’s rock. That’s not an uncommon behavior on the river – sometimes the bears will sit on various rocks and look for fish that way,” Bruce said.
Backpack has very few wounds compared to most adult male bears his age, which park staff say is a sign that he’s not aggressive. They say he has a “quiet toughness.”
“He’s more of a stoic presence on the river,” Bruce said. He doesn’t really get into drama or cause any upset in the hierarchy. He holds his own very quietly.”
A close (and chunky) competition
Backpack ultimately defeated 15 other heavyset hopefuls in the bracket-style competition to get his Fat Bear Week crown.
For the first time, the group included whole bear families. Most were eliminated early on, but mama bear 132 and her three spring cubs made it to the semifinals, losing to Bear 910 — this year’s runner-up.
Bear 910, a female brown bear, was the runner up of Fat Bear Week 2026.
Bear 910 does not have an official nickname like Backpack, but many fans call her the “Dancing Queen” for her head movements while fishing. She’s another legacy bear whose mother also once won Fat Bear Week.
According to her bio, she adopted her niece and raised it alongside her biological cub years ago and now lives alone, fishing wherever and whenever she wants. Her large size drew attention from a couple male competitors earlier in the season.
Even though Bear 910 wasn’t crowned the chubby champion, Bruce said she’s still really rotund and developed quite the fanbase.
“I think people really latch on to her. They really respect her as a bear who is adaptable (and) will take care of family members, even though they are distant,” Bruce said.
Even if the plump participant you were rooting for didn’t take the top spot as fattest bear, Bruce said they’re all still winners. The goal of Fat Bear Week is to celebrate how much weight the animals pack on from feasting on massive salmon runs.
“They have already won in the fact that they are set to survive another winter hibernation,” she said. “They win all of the love.”