KATMAI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska — Backpack, a 20-year-old male brown bear, won this year’s Fat Bear Week after edging fellow finalist Dancing Queen in a close public vote at Katmai National Park.
More than 2.3 million people participated in the weeklong competition, which pits bears against each other as voters choose the animals that have most successfully gained weight ahead of winter hibernation.
Backpack won the final with a margin of about 5,000 votes out of roughly 200,000 ballots cast.
The victory continues a family tradition. Backpack’s mother, Holly, previously won the competition.
Park rangers officially identify the bear as Bear 89. They gave him the nickname Backpack after observing him climb onto his mother’s back while she swam across the Brooks River.
Backpack suffered a leg injury that left him with a limp. He later adapted his routine and often spent time resting on a rock rather than competing with other bears.
“Unlike many large adult male bears, Backpack hasn’t shown much aggression toward his competitors,” his contestant profile says.
Katmai park ranger Sarah Bruce told Alaska Public Media that Backpack now weighs about 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) and has become a fan favorite among viewers who have followed him on the park’s live cameras since 2012.
The competition allows viewers to watch the bears catch salmon from the Brooks River and compare photos documenting their weight gain throughout the summer.
Katmai’s brown bears spend summer and early autumn feeding heavily on salmon before entering hibernation. During the roughly five-month period, the bears do not eat or drink as they conserve energy through the winter.
Organizers also use Fat Bear Week to raise awareness about brown bears, their Alaskan habitats and the threats they face from human activity.
