"The public votes for their favorite brown bear each year in the March Madness-style tournament held by Katmai National Park and Preserve in partnership with the nonprofit Katmai Conservancy and online portal Explore.org. Weighing in at around 1,200 pounds, Chunk captured voters' hearts this year with his perseverance. He showed up to catch salmon at the Brooks River with a broken jaw that's healing but likely now a long-term disability."
"Chunk captured voters' hearts this year with his perseverance The brown bears need to pack on the pounds each fall, gaining as much as four pounds a day. That gets them through the winter, when they might lose as much as a third of their stored body fat. This year's contenders got extra fat and healthy thanks to an enormous salmon run."
Bear 32, known as Chunk, won Fat Bear Week 2025 through public voting. Chunk weighs about 1,200 pounds and continued fishing at Brooks River despite a broken jaw that is healing but likely a long-term disability. Brown bears at Katmai pack on fat each fall, sometimes gaining up to four pounds per day to survive winter fat loss. Katmai hosts around 2,200 brown bears and experienced an enormous sockeye salmon run this year. The park reports one of the healthiest wild sockeye runs remaining despite warming temperatures. Explore.org provides a live Brown Bear Cam for viewers.
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