The nutty competition pit 16 hefty squirrels against each other in a March Madness-style bushy tailed bracket to find the fattest squirrel in Texas.

TEXAS, USA — Hot on the heels of Alaska’s Fat Bear Week, Texas communities are going a little nuts for their own twist on the competition. 

The inaugural Fat Squirrel Week, run by Texas Parks and Wildlife, just concluded and named Chunkosaurus Rex the first ever winner. 

The nutty competition pit 16 hefty squirrels against each other in a March Madness-style bushy-tailed bracket to find the fattest squirrel in Texas.

“Despite his size, Chunk moves surprisingly fast when a bag of trail mix hits the ground,” the Dinosaur Valley State Park wrote in their entry to the contest. “He’s a park favorite, a local legend and the undisputed mascot of Texas Fat Squirrel Week – proving that when it comes to snack and charm, bigger really is better.”

The contest was tail and tail for some time with Chunkosaurus Rex beating Chunk Norris 393 to 310. 

🏆🐿️🥇WINNER! 🏆🐿️🥇

YOUR FAT SQUIRREL WEEK WINNER OF 2025 is…

🦖CHUNKOSAURUS REX!!!!🦖

Dinosaur Valley is proud to be the…

Posted by Dinosaur Valley State Park – Texas Parks and Wildlife on Friday, October 24, 2025

Size wasn’t the only factor in the competition. 

“We went more for the criteria of silliness and creativity of the squirrel pose and then also some heftiness to it,” Carolanne Brannon, park superintendent for Texas’ Meridian State Park, told Alaska’s News Source. 

Each rotund rodent was nominated by participating state parks and voted on by the public through Facebook likes, comments, tags and interactions.

So what does the victor get? 

“Bragging rights, first of all, and they get to survive winter, which is always a good thing,” Brannon told CBS News. 

She said she and other park rangers hope the competitors are naturally plumped up squirrels and not getting fed by humans. 

The competition ran from Oct. 19 through Oct. 26 and state parks hope to see it grow (like the chunky squirrels) in the future. Keep your eyes peeled for next year’s competitors.