# @washingtonpost on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd5PPrll70h
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71002451-washingtonpost-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c5604d6bb2.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-30T02:15:16.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) — https://gondola.cc/washingtonpost

## Caption

After more than a week of voting, a new fattest bear has been crowned in Alaska: Bear #89, a.k.a. “Backpack.” 

He earned his nickname by climbing on his mother’s back as a young cub 20 years ago, and won fans with his story of recovery after a leg injury in 2007. According to his official biography on the Fat Bear Week site, he opts for a “quiet strength” instead of aggression when seeking prime spots for fish.

“He’s a Lover, Not a Fighter!!” one fan wrote on the nature cam network Explore.org, which puts on the contest with the National Park Service and Katmai Conservancy. Interest in the bracket-style tournament this year was so significant that early voting overwhelmed the system and forced an extension of the first round.

Backpack defeated Bear #910, a female dubbed “Dancing Queen” by some fans in a contest that included a record 16 contenders, not counting some accompanying cubs. The competition has unfolded every year since its first iteration in 2014 at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, unbeknownst to the portly participants.

“For the bears, there was no campaigning. No strategy meetings. No polling,” wrote the National Park Service in a Facebook post. “Just bears doing what bears do best: eating, fishing, napping, more eating, and getting gloriously chunky.”

Tap the link in our bio to learn more.

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## Tags

910, 89

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