How the big brown won the crown
Chunk, a towering brown bear known for his healed broken jaw and heavyweight frame, finally claimed Alaska’s Fat Bear Week title after several runner-up finishes. The annual Katmai National Park contest, a social-media staple, celebrates bears’ pre-hibernation heft while educating viewers on salmon runs and conservation. Organizers reported record vote totals, boosted by school programs and wildlife livestreams that turned Chunk’s daily feedings into appointment viewing. The bear’s distinctive profile—scarred yet stout—helped him become this year’s memeable mascot.
Why it matters beyond the memes
Fat Bear Week is more than quirky internet culture; it channels attention into habitat protection, fishery health, and the climate pressures reshaping the North Pacific. Biologists use the spotlight to explain how salmon abundance, river temperatures, and tourism flows intersect. For Alaskan guides and outfitters, the contest anchors shoulder-season bookings. As ecosystems warm, the spectacle doubles as a teachable moment: thriving bears are a proxy for intact waterways, while lean years signal stress higher up the food chain.