Chunk, at 1200 pounds, won the Fat Bear Week 2025, a competition where the public can vote for their favorite brown bear living at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska.

The single elimination tournament has match-ups between individuals where you can vote for which bear “best exemplifies fatness and success.” Those words are taken from the explore.org website, where Fat Bear Week is held annually, in partnership with Katmai National Park.

Chunk is identified by a scar across his muzzle and his permanently broken jaw, likely obtained in a fight with another bear. The bears, though not weighed directly, are scanned with Terrestrial Lidar technology to approximate their weight. Most adult male bears weigh between 700 and 900 pounds during midsummer, gaining weight in preparation for winter, when the amount of fat they have stored can determine their survival in the cold months.

They gorge on salmon from Brooks River, which nets the bears around 4000 calories each. The bears can eat dozens of salmon in an afternoon, gaining up to four pounds daily. Alaska’s salmon population has grown since last year, giving the bears plenty of food and enough to go around for the time being. Future salmon runs depend on the impact of global warming on their spawning.

At Brooks Falls, the salmon reach a bottleneck, making it the perfect spot for ursine fishing. With an estimated 200,000 salmon, the bears have plenty of opportunities to feast. Cameras, placed on trees and greenery, allow viewers to watch the bears live.

Last year, Chunk lost the vote to a mother bear named Grazer with her cub who Chunk killed when the cub slipped over the falls and landed in his fishing spot. This year, though, Chunk won over enough of the 1.5 million fans who cast their votes in this competition.

Fat Bear Week has been hugely successful in attracting attention to the park. It provides the general public with a way to interact with and learn about the bears that make their lives on the river, and at the same time raises awareness about conservation efforts. Fat Bear Week managed to raise a total of $900,000 for Katmai Conservancy, helping fund research and keep the park running. This annual tradition, beloved by many, is not going away any time soon.