Something Big is Coming!

Contact: Matt Johnson, 907.469.1131

Contact: Katmai Communications

KING SALMON, Alaska --- Fat Bear Week returns to Katmai National Park September 23-30, 2025. Choose the bear that has what it takes to survive the winter and experience the crowning of the champion on September 30, 2025, at www.fatbearweek.org.

"The astonishing salmon runs in Katmai are essential to the survival of the park's ecosystem and brown bears," said Katmai Park Superintendent Mark Sturm. "Fat Bear Week enables people from around the work to actively engage in learning about bears while cheering for their favorite competitor."

Fat Bear Week is an annual competition that celebrates Katmai's amazing brown bears and the ecosystem in which they thrive. Visit www.fatbearweek.org to cast your vote in this March-madness style competition where bears go head-to-head in matchups for the title of Fat Bear Week Champion. Fat Bear Junior voting, for bear cubs only, takes place September 18 and 19, 2025 (bracket revealed September 17). The Fat Bear Week bracket is revealed September 22, the tournament and voting take place September 23-30, and the champion is crowned on September 30, 2025.

Fat bears exemplify the richness of Katmai National Park and Bristol Bay, Alaska, a wild region that is home to one of the largest populations of brown bears and the healthiest run of wild sockeye salmon left on the planet.

Fat Bear Week started in 2014. Over one million votes were cast for the bears in 2024 from one hundred countries. Check out the live cams on Explore.org or visit the bears of Katmai to learn more about the lives of the bears. Fat Bear Week is a partnership between the National Park Service, Explore.org, and the Katmai Conservancy.

For more information about Katmai visit www.nps.gov/katm or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

---NPS---