Chunk the 1,200‑Pound Bear Heads Fat Bear Week, Faces New Rivals

Chunk, officially Bear 32, returns to Katmai National Park’s Fat Bear Week with a 1,200‑pound frame that won him last year’s title. The 12th‑year contest pits 16 of the park’s largest brown bears against each other in a single‑elimination bracket. This year Chunk’s main challenger is Gully (Bear 903), the son of two‑time champion Grazer. All voting is conducted online at fatbearweek. org, and the winner will be announced on September 29. Viewers can follow the bears live on explore. org’s cameras before casting their votes. The event, launched in 2014, uses the bears’ salmon‑rich diet and seasonal weight gain to educate the public about the resilience of the 2,200 brown bears that roam the Alaska Peninsula.