The votes are in, and the winner of Fat Bear Week 2025 is the indomitable Bear 32, also known as Chunk.
The public votes[1] for their favorite brown bear each year in the March Madness-style tournament held by Katmai National Park and Preserve in partnership with the nonprofit Katmai Conservancy and online portal Explore.org[2].
Weighing in at around 1,200 pounds, Chunk[3] captured voters’ hearts this year with his perseverance. He showed up to catch salmon at the Brooks River with a broken jaw that’s healing but likely now a long-term disability.
Chunk captured voters’ hearts this year with his perseverance
The brown bears need to pack on the pounds each fall[4], gaining as much as four pounds a day. That gets them through the winter, when they might lose as much as a third of their stored body fat.
References
- ^ public votes (www.theverge.com)
- ^ Explore.org (explore.org)
- ^ Chunk (explore.org)
- ^ pack on the pounds each fall (www.doi.gov)