The biggest upset in Fat Bear Week history just happened. Reigning champion Chunk, the 1,200-pound titan who finally claimed the crown in 2025, is out. Eliminated in the first round by a seven-year-old upstart named Bucky Dent. If you thought March Madness was brutal, you clearly haven’t been paying attention to the bears of Katmai National Park.
What Is Fat Bear Week?
Fat Bear Week is an annual bracket-style tournament hosted by Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, running this year from September 22 to 29. The premise is simple: brown bears spend the summer gorging on sockeye salmon in the Brooks River to pack on fat reserves for winter hibernation. The public votes on which bear best exemplifies “fatness and success,” and the winner is crowned Fat Bear Week Champion.
The contest started in 2014 and has exploded in popularity. Last year, more than 1.7 million votes were cast from over 100 countries. This year’s Day 1 turnout was so massive it crashed the voting site, the biggest in the competition’s history.
The Chunk Upset: A Champion Falls
Chunk, officially Bear 32, was the heavy favorite. He weighed an estimated 1,200 pounds last year while nursing a broken jaw, and his comeback story made him a fan darling. But Bucky Dent, Bear 164, a seven-year-old known for a unique fishing technique where he stands in the deepest part of a plunge pool to catch fish falling from above, had other plans.
Bucky dethroned the champion in Round 1, ending any hope of a back-to-back title. It’s the kind of upset that defines Fat Bear Week: reputation means nothing when the salmon run is plentiful, and this year’s run was exceptional.
The Mamas Take Over
For the first time in Fat Bear Week history, the bracket features five mother bears and their cubs. Naturalist Mike Fitz explained why that matters: “A mother bear goes into the den with fat reserves not only to survive that hibernation period for herself, but also for her cubs.”
The stories are incredible. Bear 132, a first-time competitor, lost one of her three spring cubs for several frantic days in July before it miraculously reunited with the family. She’s still in the running. Bear 806 made headlines for a darker reason: she killed and partially ate another bear’s cub in July, then adopted an abandoned cub nicknamed “Biggie.” And Bear 909, whose cub was killed by 806, has shown remarkable resilience, channeling her grief into packing on pounds.
The Final Four
After two rounds of voting, only four remain: Bucky Dent, Backpack (Bear 89), the 132 family, and Bear 910.
Backpack is a fan favorite who overcame a severe limp in his youth to become a “brawny beast.” Bear 910 defeated her own sister, Bear 909, in Round 2, a bittersweet family battle that underscored the brutal realities of survival.
Voting for the semifinals opens Monday, September 28. The champion will be crowned on Fat Bear Tuesday, September 29.
The Bottom Line
Fat Bear Week isn’t just a cute internet contest. It’s a celebration of survival in one of the harshest environments on Earth. The bears of Katmai don’t get medals. They get to live through the winter. Chunk’s defeat proves that even champions can be humbled. The mamas in the bracket prove that motherhood in the wild is the ultimate act of resilience. And Bucky Dent? He’s just getting started.
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