Bear 89, known to fans as “Backpack,” is the 2026 Fat Bear Week champion, defeating Bear 910 by a vote of 103,344 to 98,253. The 5,091-vote margin capped a tournament that drew roughly 2.5 million votes, up from 1.7 million in 2025, with opening-day traffic crashing the voting site and forcing officials to extend first-round voting and switch platforms before the final. Backpack’s road to the title included a semifinal comeback against Bear 164, “Bucky.” He trailed for most of the matchup before surging ahead by about 3,000 votes, a finish rangers called the closest in the event’s history.
The name Backpack comes from his cub days, when he rode on his mother’s back. That mother, Bear 435 “Holly,” won Fat Bear Week in 2019, making this something of a family dynasty. Runner-up Bear 910 is the lone female finalist and the daughter of former champion Bear 409, “Beadnose.” Defending champion Bear 32, “Chunk,” lost in the first round to Bucky while living with a broken jaw and teeth.
Fat Bear Week started in 2014 as a Facebook event with 1,700 votes and has grown into a global contest hosted by Katmai National Park and Preserve. The point behind all the fun is serious: a fat bear is a successful bear. Katmai’s brown bears lose about a third of their body weight during hibernation, so the fall weight gain the contest celebrates is what carries them through winter. The event also drives real interest in conservation and in the health of the ecosystem.
Who would you have voted for this year, Backpack or Bear 910? Tell us in the comments.
