A Bridesmaid No More: Chunk Crowned Champ of Fat Bear Week

It took 32 Chunk, the 1,200-plus pound brown bear, 11 years to claw his way to the top, but all that portly persistence paid off. After two straight years at runner-up, Chunk is your 2025 Fat Bear Week champion. 

Chunk sailed into the championship match against bear 856 with voting margins wider still than even his salmon-stuffed frame. He dominated once again on Tuesday. He garnered 96,350 votes to 856’s 63,725. Last year’s champ was the fiercely-protective mama bear Grazer. She was knocked out in the semifinals. Her defeat paved the way for Chunk’s victory in Katmai National Park’s yearly contest. 

The Alaskan nature preserve has run the Fat Bear Week competition each fall since 2014. Education and conservation are its goals. During Fat Bear Week, fans are able to watch the bears via live stream as they hunt for salmon and fatten up for the winter. Each day, they get to vote for their favorites. 

As a bear, Chunk was utterly unaware of his rising internet stardom. He's described by Katmai naturalists as a “large adult male with narrowly-set eyes, dark brown fur, and a prominent brow ridge.” Chunk impressed voters with his ability to overcome a major setback. Before Fat Bear season started, Chunk suffered a broken jaw. It likely happened in a fight with a fellow bear. The injury made it harder for him to scarf the needed amount of salmon in the Brooks River to do his name justice. But he persevered.

“Despite his broken jaw, he remains one of the biggest, baddest bears at Brooks River,” naturalist Mike Fitz told The Associated Press.

Reflect: What is something you worked hard for over a long time, and how did you stay determined?

Photo of before and after pictures of Chunk from Instagram courtesy of @fatbearweek.