'Backpack' Named Winner of Alaska's Fat Bear Week

A brown bear named "Backpack" has been declared the winner of this year's Fat Bear Week, the annual competition held in Alaska's Katmai National Park that celebrates bears successfully fattening up ahead of winter hibernation.

Backpack defeated a bear known only by the number "910" in the competition's final round, according to organizers of the event.

A beloved conservation tradition

Fat Bear Week is organized annually by Katmai National Park and Preserve, in partnership with the nonprofit Explore.org, and invites members of the public to vote online on bracket-style matchups between the park's brown bears. The contest, which typically runs each autumn, showcases the dramatic physical transformation the bears undergo as they gorge on salmon from the Brooks River to build up fat reserves needed to survive winter hibernation.

The event has grown into a widely followed piece of online culture in recent years, drawing large numbers of public votes and drawing attention to the bears' feeding habits and the health of the river's salmon runs, which the park's brown bear population depends on.

No additional details were provided about Backpack's specific weight gain or history in the competition. Past winners of Fat Bear Week have often become minor celebrities, with the park sharing photos and updates on their appearance and behavior throughout the year.