This is a completely different type of beauty contest; Fat Bear Week has officially begun, and it’s your opportunity to vote for your favorite fat bear, an Alaskan brown bear, to be exact. 

For better or worse, I think photos of bears are cute. And I can’t help it. I was raised that way. I grew up with Yogi Bear. I do realize, however, that bears can be extremely dangerous, powerful animals. 

How did it start?

Fat Bear Week got started back in 2014 when former park ranger Mike Fitz came up with the idea. People visiting the park were asked to look at before and after pictures and vote on their favorite fat bear. In 2015, the whole thing went live on the Internet. 

In 2022, there was a giant controversy where voter fraud was an issue. 

The whole contest is administered by The National Park Service and explore.org and everyone is invited to log on and vote. Not just people from Alaska. 

According to seattletimes.com.
‘Last year’s winner, Chunk — known officially as Bear 32 — is hungry for a repeat. Chunk’s weight in 2025 was estimated at 1,200 pounds, which gave him a narrow victory. This year he’s back and facing corpulent competition like Gully — aka Bear 903 — the offspring of two-time champion Grazer.’ 

This year, there are 16 bears on the list in a single elimination bracket style tournament where your votes decide the winner. Be sure to log on and check out the photos. 

Cast your vote.

All of the voting is done online. at  www.fatbearweek.org,  

It seems that the web site for voting has crashed but please keep trying to find a “work around”.