live streams of the bears fishing for salmon<\/a>. And people got right into it. It had a huge following.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aeabf43746c0a5114e678edc359c6aba.jpeg\")
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
Sounds like a soothing watch!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5dadff90cb658f4434b0be5dd74d7e74.jpeg\")
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
Super relaxing. One year, a viewer posted a before-and-after comparison of how much one of the bears had beefed up. This blew up on social media and eventually led to park rangers capitalising on the fan interest and starting up the week-long comp.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fa155c56bbec529ffad9feb4602eb397.jpeg\")
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
I think it’s safe to say we all appreciate them for kick-starting one of the most wholesome events on the internet calendar.<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
So it’s an online vote?<\/p>\n
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
Yep, and people all over the world vote for their favourite bears.<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
So what’s it got to do with the bears beefing up?<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
The bears are bulking up so they can survive off their fat stores when they hibernate for winter. They’re basically prepping for a months-long famine.<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
Ohhh yeah, it’s spring here, which means it’s autumn in the northern hemisphere. How much do you reckon you need to eat before hibernation?<\/p>\n
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
I saw Katmai rangers saying the bears can eat more than 30 salmon a day. I can’t imagine having the same meal every day \ud83e\udd74<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
I’ve just done the maths on that. With salmon about 4,500 calories a pop, it means these ursine bodybuilders have a typical daily intake of about 135,000 calories! And I thought my bulking seasons were gnarly \u2026<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
That’s a lot of food! So how does this competition work? How does a bear win?<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
They have knockout rounds, like the World Cup. Here’s how it looked this year:<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aa598df41f2e484da27539a51abb32b2.png\")
<\/p>\n
The voting system is structured a bit like the World Cup tournament. (Explore.org)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
People are told to vote for “the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears”.<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
So it’s not about kilos, but more the vibe of the thing?<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
Yeah, pretty much.<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
Who were you lot wanting to win? I didn’t mind that 164 Bucky fella \u2026<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
I stuck with the reigning champ, 32 Chunk. He copped a broken jaw last year and learned to adapt to his disability. Before that, he had been a Fat Bear Week runner-up four times, so I was happy to see the corpulent king defending his title. Too bad Bucky knocked him out in the first round!<\/p>\n
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
I liked 131 Marshmallow. She had the cutest name. Apparently, this year she got “proportionally fatter than she has ever been”. I have to root for a woman in a male-dominated field. Go girl!<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
Speaking of cute, I loved seeing the family unit entries this year.<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
Was that a new thing?<\/p>\n
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
Yes! We used to get the mini tournament, Fat Bear Week Junior, for the chubby cubbies, but that was scrapped. They competed with their mums in the big leagues this year \ud83e\udd7a<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
One of the family units was 901 and her cub. During the season, 901 Jr was caught on the live stream with porcupine quills in its paw. Hopefully it learned an important lesson about playing with wildlife!<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
So, what was so good about this year’s winner? Why do you reckon he won?<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
Riding on his mother’s back is a pretty cute anecdote, and he sounds like a sweetheart. The comp’s organisers said: “Backpack’s quiet toughness has allowed him to find his niche alongside the biggest bears at Brooks River”. Awww!<\/p>\n
Georgie Hewson<\/p>\n
Plus, he’s a bit of an underdog. He had a leg injury in when he was little and didn’t put on much weight that summer, so people were wondering if he would survive. Now look at him!<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
Rightio, so what’s the next animal-related, kind-of-weird-but-actually-really-quite-sweet internet event I should mark my calendar for?<\/p>\n
Dannielle Maguire<\/p>\n
Excuse me?<\/p>\n
Elissa Fitzgerald<\/p>\n
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