The Backpack grizzly, which is described as “gent” and quiet, was elected Fat Bear Week champion, a competition that has been taking place since 2014, in Katmai National Park, Alaska, United States.
© US Department of the Interior/X
30/09/2026
by
News to Minutes
O backpack grizzly bear, which is described with “gentle” and quiet, was elected Fat Bear Week champion, a competition that has been taking place since 2014, in Katmai National Park, Alaska, United States.
According to The Guardian, 20-year-old Backpack overcame the Dancing Queen bear, winning Alaska's fattest bear award.
The grizzly bear, who is known to sit alone on a rock on the Brooks River for long periods, won the competition with over 100,000 votes that precipitate the ability of these animals to eat as many fish as possible.
Fat Bear Weak has become an annual tradition and celebrates the 2,200 grizzlies living in the reserve on the Alaska Peninsula.
Hear ye, hear ye! We have a Fat Bear Week winner!
This year’s Lord of Lard, Earl of Girth and Commander in Beef is... Bear 89 also know as Backpack! pic.twitter. with/Gfyolv0oC— U.S. Department of the Interior (@Interior) September 30, 2026
Backpack's mother was also crowned the fattest bear in the fifth edition of the contest. Holly was to win a second time in 2022, until the organizers of the event realized that the votes had been manipulated.
Despite this controversy, the public has increasingly adhered to this event. The vote, moreover, takes place for a week and people can follow through cameras installed on the Brooks River, the bears fishing for salmon and eating for fat before hibernation in winter.
The United States Department of the Interior reacted to Backpack’s victory, saying he “learned from his mother.”.
“The Bear 89, also known as Bacpack, is the Fat Bear Week champion of 2026. His mother, Holly, carried him on her back and helped him survive a severe leg injury. Now, the little Backpack was also crowned”, can be read in a publication on social network X.