Fat Bear Week is the only election I fully trust, and today it gets its final: Bear 910 against Backpack, two enormous Katmai brown bears who spent all summer eating salmon like it was their job, because it was. I should admit I am built along similar lines, so I’m not neutral here. Voting runs from noon to 9 p.m. Eastern at explore.org, and the champion gets crowned tonight.
As Popular Science’s rundown of finalists 910 and Backpack explains, both come from champion bloodlines. 910, nicknamed Dancing Queen by fans for the head flip she does while fishing, is the daughter of two-time winner Beadnose. Backpack, 20.5 years old and named for riding on his mom’s back as a cub, is the son of former champ Holly. It’s a nepo baby final, and I have never supported nepotism more.
The Government Started Posting Through It
The tournament opened on September 22, and the U.S. Department of the Interior came out like a guy who just found the thesaurus page for chubby. It posted a glossary of words to know before voting started, from Hefty to Mega Chonk, then reminded everyone that if the salmon are runnin’, the big backs are comin’.
Then it went full nursery rhyme, with a pixel-art bear and the words “thick thighs, save lives” coming from an actual federal agency. One viral post lined up the scariest-sounding departments next to Interior, which was simply thrilled it was bear season again.
Did the Park Service Need to Go This Hard?
The National Park Service answered on September 24 with “Honky Chonk Beardonkadonk,” a phrase I plan to say to myself in the mirror every morning. The post passed 10 million views, which is more people than have ever read my work combined. They followed it by calling one bear 1,000 pounds of salmon-fueled confidence, and Interior eventually admitted a bear runs its account.
Everyone Else Showed Up Hungry
Once the government made it okay, regular people piled on. Somebody celebrated with the bear pride flag, a nod to the other bear community, which I fully support. Someone else told the Ozempic crowd this is not their week, and the Baloo reply got me, mostly because the Bare Necessities is also my approach to meal planning.
A bear photo account kept nominating its own contenders, including one sprawled out for a Titanic portrait and another lying face down in the grass. That second one is exactly how I look after Thanksgiving, minus the fur, depending on the year.
Who Wins Fat Bear Week 2026?
Campaign season got serious too, with fan-made posters like the Choose Kindness pitch for 806 and before-and-after photos that belong in a gym commercial. Bucky Dent bulked up so much he nearly made the final, losing to Backpack by less than a percentage point in one of the closest votes the contest has seen. 910’s glow-up, from lean in July to massive by September, might be the strongest ad on the ballot.
I know it’s silly. Grown adults are arguing about which bear ate the most fish, and federal agencies are posting like a group chat at 2 a.m. But there’s something sweet about a whole country cheering for animals that are doing exactly what they need to survive the winter, belly and all, no shame attached. Vote for whoever you want tonight. I’m just happy there is one week a year where getting big is the whole point.
If the government accounts are your favorite part, These Rangers Deserve A Raise: National Park Tweets has plenty more where Honky Chonk came from. 30 Bear Memes (No, Not Those Kind of Bears) covers the rest of the species, and 35 Absolute Units That Skipped Cardio For Gains proves bears are not the only ones bulking this fall.
When she is not rewatching bear cam footage like it’s prestige TV, Laura Bennett writes about memes, wildlife and animals with far better appetites than his.
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Laura Bennett has spent eight years immersed in internet culture, specializing in deep dives into meme origins, evolving meme trends, and digital subcultures. As a contributor for several prominent online platforms, including BuzzFeed’s meme division and Know Your Meme, she’s written extensively about viral moments from Crying Jordan to Woman Yelling at a Cat. Laura believes memes aren't just internet jokes—they're modern-day folklore. She brings that passion to Thunder Dungeon by keeping readers connected to what's culturally significant, hilarious, and timelessly viral.
