Absolute units 🐻⁠ ⁠ Fat Bear Week is back for 2026, with 16 brown bears from Alaska’s Katmai National Park going head to head to be crowned the chunkiest of them all.⁠ ⁠ The annual competition celebrates the incredible amount of weight the bears gain while feasting on salmon before winter. This year’s line up includes mothers, single females, younger bears and some seriously massive adult males.⁠ ⁠ Among them is reigning champion Bear #32, Chunk, who won in 2025 despite reportedly starting the salmon season with a broken jaw.⁠ ⁠ Voting begins on 22 September, with the winner set to be crowned on 29 September.⁠ ⁠ It might look like a competition for the biggest unit, but all that extra weight is vital. The bears rely on stored fat reserves to help them survive the winter months.⁠ ⁠ #FatBearWeek #Animals #LADbible