Katmai National Park And Preserve Setting Up For Fat Bear Week Contest Later This Month

Katmai National Park and Preserve’s popular Fat Bear Week contest, a March Madness-style bracket game that names one of the park’s baddest and biggest bruin, is gearing up for its 2025 contest later this month. Here are some details from Alaska’s News Source:

Fat Bear Week is a time when people can vote on some of the biggest and fattest brown bears at Katmai National Park and Preserve.

“You can cast for the bear that has gotten the fattest, the bear that looks like it gained the most weight between summer and fall, or you can vote for your favorite bear,” says Sarah Bruce, Katmai National Park and Preserve visual information specialist and media team lead.

The brackets are still being put together, according to Bruce. Teams are currently out getting photos of the bears, who are getting bigger every day.

Voting for the Junior Fat Bear Week contest starts on September 18, with the main bracket vote running from September 23-30.