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@nationalparksguide 🐽 FAT BEAR WEEK IS BACK! Katmai National Park’s annual celebration of chunky brown bears preparing for winter. Here are the 2026 contenders after eating approximately 60,000 LBS of salmon! ✅Follow @nationalparksguide for coverage And watch our stories for UPDATES 👀 🐻 131 - This fair lady appears fatter this year than ever before. Before: T. Hunt After: C. Loberg 🐻 Studious - She got her nickname from the focused way she watched and learned while fishing beside her famous mom, Grazer. Before: T. Hunt After: T. Carmack 🐻 909 - She lost both of her spring cubs this year, but made a remarkable comeback…returning to the river and building the fat reserves she’ll need to make it through winter. Before: T. Hunt After: T. Carmack 🐻 910 - She’s easy to recognize by her habit of repeatedly lifting her head while fishing at Brooks Falls, a quirky behavior she doesn’t seem to do anywhere else on the river. Before: T. Hunt After: C. Loberg 🐻 Chunk - He’s BACK! The defending Fat Bear Week champion broke his jaw in 2025, recovered, and returned with his famous low-hanging belly intact. Before: @explore.org After: C. Loberg 🐻 Backpack - He got his nickname as a cub because he rode on his mom Holly’s back while they swam. Before: C. Loberg After: @explore.org 🐻 Walker - He used to roam around looking for bears to play with. These days, the games are over. Younger males have started challenging his rank. Before: T. Hunt After: C. Loberg 🐻 Bucky - This boy fishes a spot beneath Brooks Falls that no other bear has consistently used-and he may still get much bigger. Before & after: C. Loberg 🐻 Gully - Believed to be the son of Grazer, he earned his nickname by hunting gulls instead of ignoring them like most bears. Before: T. Hunt After: C. Loberg Note: We’re highlighting the 9 adult bears competing. There are additional competitors, including subadults and family groups, that we’ll be sharing on our Stories! #nationalparks #nationalparksguide #fatbearweek
