After years of bulking season, Chunk the brown bear has finally lived up to his name — and his waistline — by winning Fat Bear Week 2025.
Chunk who weighs over 500kg (1,200 lbs) even overcame a broken jaw to become the champion this year.
During a live stream on explore.org — the nature network that hosts the contest in partnership with the National Park Service and the Katmai Conservancy — one voter, Amy Hall, called Chunk an “inspiration.”
“Chunk and I both went through some stuff this summer… and we both have learned to adapt and heal. Thank you, Chunk, for being an inspiration,” she said.
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According to Chunk’s profile on the Fat Bear Week website, Chunk broke his jaw in June and observers think the injury was likely the result of a fight with another bear during mating season. Bear mating season typically occurs in the summer, lasting from May through July, with activity peaking in June.
Park rangers at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, home to some of the largest brown bears in the world, praised Chunk’s dedication in learning how to fish again with his major injury.
“He reminded us how resilient bears are and how they have the ability to recover from injury and hardship,” ranger Naomi Boak said.
Chunk even beat one of the heaviest bears along the river, known as “856”, by more than 30,000 votes. Explore.org’s Mike Fitz, a former ranger, said Chunk and 856 were even “real-life rivals on the river”.
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Fitz created the contest in 2014 as a one-day event that drew about 1,700 votes. Since then, it has grown into a global phenomenon, attracting thousands of fans worldwide. Each year, viewers can tune into live webcams to follow 12 brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve and cast their votes for the fattest contender.
Congratulations, Chunk! You really lived up to your name, didn’t you?
