Fat Bear Week 2025: Check Results & How to Vote Guide

Every autumn, the bears that inhabit Katmai National Park in Alaska, take preparation for the long upcoming winter by gaining weight.  Fat Bear Week 2025, has returned again, inviting fans of wildlife across the globe to witness, and vote on, for the fattest brown bears in a fun, single-elimination online tournament, which was also held in conjunction with Fat Bear Week.

What is Fat Bear Week 2025? 

Fat Bear Week (FBW) is an annual event to highlight the survival instinct of brown bears in Alaska. For many years, bears have been documented by webcams during Fat Bear Week in Brooks River, a part of Katmai National Park, as they gorge on salmon to build up their fat reserves. Their consumption of salmon is essentially critical in the steep weight gain that is required to survive multiple months of hibernation in winter, where bears do not eat or drink anything.

Fat Bear Week was first created in 2014 and has grown to gain worldwide success among people, with millions of fans on a week-long voting system to finally crown the);
fat bear. This year, the competition will again take place from September 23rd to 30th resourced with daily voting on the official Fat Bear Week website.

Why Do Bears Gain So Much Weight in Fat Bear Week?

In late summer and fall, bears have a phase they go through called hyperphagia, which is produced by the bear's body to drive uncontrollable hunger and aggressively gain as much fat as they can. This fat serves as vital energy during the harsh winter months when the bears enter hibernation and live off those fat stores.

To nourish properly for both pregnancy and nursing, female bears must bulk up. Bears viewed in Fat Bear Week will grow to weigh more than 1,000 pounds in late August. This is a remarkable feat of nature preparing for survival.

Meet The Stars of Fat Bear Week 2025

2025 will feature the emergence of new stars alongside returning legends. Among them, Grazer (#128), who won in 2023 and 2024, possibly stands out the most.  Grazer's cub, 128 Jr., recently triumphed in the Fat Bear Jr. contest. Returning bears include Otis (#480), "Bear Force One" (#747) who was rumored to weigh nearly 1,400 pounds, and other legendary bears contesting for the crown.

This year will provide interesting competition, thanks to one of the best salmon runs on record that help bears bulk up before hibernation.

🐻 Fat Bear Junior struts in tomorrow, Sept 18–19
🐻 Then it’s Fat Bear Week, Sept 23–30

Grazer’s the reigning champ, but which bold, chunky contender will steal the 2025 crown? pic.twitter.com/OJmkEG0JAA

— explore.org (@exploreorg) September 17, 2025

How to Watch and Vote for Fat Bear Week 2025

Fans of nature can view the bear broadcasts while they fish on Explore.org via live streams. Voting starts on fatbearweek.org on September 23 and ends on September 30. Each day, two bears are picked and fans vote for their favorite bear, and the bear with the highest votes advances. This continues until our eventual champion is crowned.

Each email can vote one time, and results are updated dynamically on daily leaderboards.