Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve is hosting its annual Fat Bear Week, which shows off their largest brown bears who are preparing for a long hibernation by eating as much as possible.

The roughly 2,200 brown bears inside the park are devouring salmon in preparation for winter where they will need the extra pounds to survive. They pack on the pounds quickly in the fall months with some males exceeding 1,200 pounds. 

National Park Service posted that voting has started and reminded people that the bigger the bear the better. "Always remember, fat bears are successful bears. There’s no fat shaming here. In brown bears, large amounts of body fat are indicative of good health and strong chances of survival. The bears need stores of fat to help them survive winter hibernation, which can last for months. While in the den, a bear can lose up to one-third of its body mass." 

Voting started on September 23 and will continue through the 30th using a bracket system. Viewers look at the photos posted by the park of the transformation of the bears over the past few months and vote for who they think is the "fattest". 

The bears go head-to-head in a single elimination until there is just one remaining. The winner will be announced next week. Learn more about each bear here. 

The park recently announced the "chubbiest cub" in this year's Fat Bear Junior competition. The winner out of the four growing cubs is 128 Junior. Katmai National Park announced her win and wrote, "She is beauty, she is grace, she has salmon on her face!"

She is now a contestant against the big bears and is going against 609 in round one. The youngsters are well matched as this is 609's first year on her own. The park shared, "The yearling youngster, 128 junior may be pint-sized but she's packing potential and waddling in with wide-eyed wonder and a belly full of dreams. 2025 was bear 609's first summer on her own, but she's seasoned in snacking and savvy in stream strategy. Will she strut away from this round with swagger?"

Be sure to vote daily and follow along to see all of the chunky bears preparing for a long winter. Check out the bracket and vote here.