King Salmon, Alaska - Alaska's brown bears have been packing on the pounds all summer. They're bafflingly big, which means it's almost time for Fat Bear Week 2026! Get ready to vote and crown one burly animal the fattest of them all.
The dates for Fat Bear Week 2026 have been released!
This year's tournament, hosted by Katmai National Park and Preserve, will run from September 22-29. The contestants haven't been revealed just yet.
The beloved viral single-elimination tournament asks the public to choose which bear they think "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears," per the Fat Bear Week website.
There are two head to head competitons one for younger brown bears and cubs, Fat Bear Junior, and one for the bigger-bellied, beautiful brown bears.
Fat Bear Week, which began as Fat Bear Tuesday in 2014, became Fat Bear Week in 2015, and is now in its 12th year.
It's even inspired other similar events, namely Fat Marmot Week.
Fat Bear Week: From niche to beloved annual event!
During the first Fat Bear Week, just 1,700 votes were cast, per the contest website. In 2024, over one million votes were cast from more than 100 countries.
The adorable contest has become so popular that in 2022 someone even tried to hijack the voting!
After catching the slew of fake votes going to contestant Holly, Bear 747 was dubbed the winner.
Now, one question remains: Will the reigning chubbster, Chunk, retain his Fat Bear Week crown from 2025? Has he munched enough to be in the running?
Fat animal aficionados can check out the competition on Katmai's famous bear cams.
Stay tuned to TAG24 NEWS for more info and the contest website for all of the adorbs before-and-after pics.