Fat Bear Week 2025: Chunk Takes the Crown
This year, a hefty brown bear named Chunk has claimed victory in the much-loved Fat Bear Week contest. On Tuesday, he outshined the competition and secured his place as the champ in this annual event.
Hosted online, Fat Bear Week invites viewers to follow 12 bears residing in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Fans can watch live webcams and vote in a single-elimination tournament format as the competition unfolds throughout the week.
Officially known as Bear 32, Chunk doesn’t have a catchy nickname for the final rounds, which is kind of interesting. The contest organizers estimate his weight at around 1,200 pounds, which really says something about his size.
It’s important to note that bears aren’t weighed during the contest because of safety reasons. Instead, previous scans using a technology called Lidar help provide these weight estimates.
“Even with his broken jaw, he stands out as one of the largest bears along the Brooks River,” said Mike Fitz, a naturalist with Explore.org. He mentioned that Chunk probably sustained his jaw injury during a scrap with another bear.
This contest has gained immense popularity over the years, with this edition seeing bears fishing in the Brooks River – about 300 miles from Anchorage. The event attracted over 1.5 million votes from fans hoping to catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures during a record-breaking salmon run.
Bears aren’t the only ones vying for the best fishing spots. According to Naomi Boak from the Katmai Conservancy, this year’s salmon influx is unprecedented, making it easier for the bears to find food and reducing competition among them.
Interestingly, this year, many of these prime spots were surprisingly open, allowing for both bears and humans to fish without issue.
On one occasion, a live camera from Explore.org captured a serene moment where some anglers were fishing by the river, even as brown bears roamed both upstream and downstream.
Voters in the contest looked at photos of the bears before and after the season, noticing their transitions from lean to quite plump. Weighing these bears can be tricky – and dangerous – so many fans opt for favorites based on their appearance and backstories.
There was a poignant moment last year when a Bear 128’s cub fell into the waterfall, landing near an injured Chunk. This led to a tense confrontation during which a voting audience ultimately favored Bear 128 over Chunk.
Fat Bear Week kicked off in 2014, aiming to educate the public about these brown bears, who are closely related to grizzlies. In summertime, they work hard to accumulate weight by feasting on as much salmon as they can, preparing for the lean winter months of hibernation ahead.
