A massive brown bear known as “32 Chunk” has been crowned the winner of this year’s Fat Bear Week competition at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, organizers announced Tuesday.
The contest, which began in 2014 and has since become a celebrated online event, highlights the survival strategy of brown bears as they bulk up ahead of winter hibernation. This year, 12 bears competed in the bracket-style tournament, with fans casting tens of thousands of votes online.
Meet your FAT BEAR WEEK 2025 champion.
— explore.org (@exploreorg) October 1, 2025
Chunk the Hunk. The Chunkster. 32 Chunk.
All hail the new king of Brooks River 👑 pic.twitter.com/GMaGePDZDO
Chunk, described by organizers as “very large” and weighing around 1,200 pounds, defeated rival bear “856” in the final round with 96,350 votes compared to 63,725. Explore.org, the nonprofit that operates livestream cameras at the Brooks River, confirmed the results and praised the bear with the caption: “Chunk the Hunk. The Chunkster. 32 Chunk. All hail the new king of Brooks River,” in a post on X.
Chunk is recognizable by his size, distinctive scarring, and a broken jaw — believed to be the result of a fight during mating season. According to Explore.org, the injury has healed but will never fully return to normal.
Fat Bear Week voting opened on September 23, with the public instructed to pick “the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears.” The event is designed to celebrate the resilience of the animals, who gorge on salmon in preparation for hibernation.
Located on Alaska’s peninsula southwest of Anchorage, Katmai National Park is home to a dense population of brown bears. Each summer and fall, visitors flock to Brooks Falls to witness bears feeding on salmon before retreating to their dens in October and November.
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