Our community got their voting groove on and crowned the chonkiest of them all for Fat Bear Week 2023! Let’s hear a stout round of applause for our Queen of Kilos... Grazer!
We promised to donate 10 cents for every vote and thanks to all your Fat Bear focus, we raised $100K for Alaskan land and bear conservation. The brackets slammed shut on October 10, and what a beary exciting showdown it was!
See the chompian
meet the chonky contenders
heavy-hitting swag
Along with our voting donations, artist Jeremy Collins created some epic designs that were up for grabs. From this swag collection we donated 100% of those purchase proceeds to support bears and bear habitat in Katmai, Alaska.
(Click on a bear to learn more!)
your participation made a chonky impact
We teamed up with The Vital Ground Foundation to be bear buddies, supporting their grant-making program to sustain land and bear conservation in Katmai, Alaska.
How did you join in on the adventure? You rocked the vote on explore.org during Fat Bear Week, helping decide which bear deserved the title of the ultimate chonk champion. For each of your epic votes, we donated 10 cents, with the grand total reaching $100K to give those bears and their habitat a big win!
It's a movement that inspires active outdoor love through partnering with non-profit organizations to conserve and protect wildlife and wild places.
The more we get outside and explore, the more we learn to appreciate our land and want to preserve it for future generations. And we start with bear conservation. Why bears? Their presence in an area signifies a diverse and healthy ecosystem that provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.
?
shop the collection
fat bear week recap
Walker was first identified as an independent 2.5-year-old in 2009. He’s a frequent user of Brooks Falls where he prefers to fish in the far pool and on the lip.
Walker remained a tolerant and playful bear during his young adult years. He allowed other bears to approach him, and he sought sparring partners for prolonged play fights. However, his priorities have changed as he matured into a fully grown adult. With his large body size and assertive disposition, Walker is one the river’s most dominant bears. He establishes and maintains his dominance at Brooks Falls by displacing other bears from preferred fishing spots. He also expresses much less tolerance for other bears, including former playmates, compared to his behavior in the recent past. Walker’s behavior demonstrates that bears can change their behavior and priorities as they grow and mature.
walker
Jeremy is known for his complex, cerebral, and whimsical drawings and maps. In fact, he was the leading artist for our limited-edition gear during this Kodiak Keep It Wild drop. When Jeremy isn't creating art, he puts up first-ascent climbs or fights for environmental and wildlife justice.
jeremy collins
learn more
Bear 747 is a very large adult male with a blocky muzzle and a floppy right ear. In early summer, his reddish-brown fur sheds in a patchy manner. Like many adult males, he often has scars and wounds on his face and neck. In late summer and fall, he is typically very fat with a low-hanging belly and uniformly dark brown fur.
Few brown bears ever grow as large as the bear who shares an identification number with a jet airplane. When 747 was first identified in 2004, he was a relatively young bear, only a few years old and unable to compete with larger bears for the most preferred fishing locations. Since then, he has become one of the largest brown bears on Earth, perhaps weighing as much as 1,400 pounds (636 kg).
He is a skilled and efficient angler who is found fishing most often in the jacuzzi or near the far pool of Brooks Falls. In 2022, he fished at Brooks Falls almost every day between late June and mid-September. Only rival males of comparable size, of which there are very few, challenge 747 for fishing spots. Despite his great size, 747 yielded to the river’s most dominant bear, 856, for many years. That changed in summer 2021 when 747 asserted his dominance over his rival. Surprisingly, 747 yielded space numerous times to 856 in early summer 2022, but their positions in the hierarchy switched by late summer. When he was present in late August and September, 747 was again the river’s most dominant bear.
747
503 Cubadult is a medium-small subadult bear, but is quite large for his age and has tall, lanky legs. In July his fur is light to medium-brown. He has dark eye rings and a dark face. His neck and head are last to shed. In the fall, his fur darkens to a grizzled-brown, and is slightly lighter on his head and neck. He has a protruding lower lip, tall brown ears, and dark claws.
503 Cubadult has a unique life history. As a cub, 503 originally belonged to 402, but after an unusually timed series of events, he was abandoned by his biological mother in early July 2014. Most cubs are pushed away by their mothers in the spring after two to three (rarely four) summers. As a lone and small yearling, he faced many threats to his survival, not the least of which was other bears. Since he was then independent and observed during several bear monitoring sessions, he was assigned #503.
By the end of July, he was adopted by 435 Holly , a female with a single spring cub (now known as #719). 435 Holly treated her adopted yearling just like her biological female spring cub. She allowed him to nurse, take fish from her, and play with the spring cub. We will never know 435 Holly's reasons for adopting the yearling with any certainty, but bears, even young bears, are adaptable and smart. They possess the ability to recognize favorable situations and take advantage of them. In 503's case, the reward (protection, food) was worth taking the risk (intolerant bear, injury, death) of approaching a strange bear. If he had approached an intolerant female too closely, he could have been injured or killed. Instead, his strategy helped to ensure his survival into subadulthood.
503
Chunk is a large adult male with narrowly-set eyes, a prominent brow ridge, and a distinctive scar across his muzzle. Even at his leanest, Chunk carries substantial fat reserves, especially on his hind quarters. In early summer he tends to shed much of the fur around his shoulders and neck. This gives him a two-toned appearance and exposes numerous scars and wounds. By late summer, his newly grown fur is dark brown
Chunk was first identified in 2007 as an independent, chunky-looking 2.5-year-old bear. He now ranks among the river’s largest and most dominant males. This allows him greater access to mating opportunities and fishing spots. Like most large bears, Chunk is not hesitant to challenge and displace others from the resources he wants. Yet, his behavior can also be enigmatic. In past years, he’d wait patiently to scavenge leftover salmon and even played with other bears. These are two uncommon behaviors for a dominant bear to display.
Due to his size and strength, Chunk is poised to take advantage of opportunities not available to most other bears. But, it is only by observing his full range of behaviors that we can get a true sense of his individuality.
chunk
Holly is a large adult female with blond ears and pale, tan-colored claws. By early autumn, she is usually very fat with grizzled blond fur. Her appearance at that time somewhat resembles the shape and color of a lightly toasted marshmallow.
When she was first identified in 2001, Holly was just maturing into an adult. Since then, she has reared several litters of cubs and in the process has become one of the most experienced bears at Brooks River.
Her motherly journey hasn’t been without hardship. When Holly and her single yearling arrived in 2007, the yearling had a pronounced limp. Despite the challenges that accompanied her yearling’s injury, Holly successfully cared for him. This bear, now known as 89 Backpack, still uses Brooks River. In 2014 Holly adopted a lone yearling cub into her family. Holly cared for and raised this bear alongside her biological cub, weaning them both in the spring of 2016. Each of those bears are now successful adults—503 and 719. Holly’s spring cub in 2020—now identified as bear 335—suffered from porcupine quills in a front paw, but when Holly returned in 2021 her cub appeared to be fully healed. She was the 2019 Fat Bear Week champion.
holly
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
This relatively small subadult (teenage) female bear is one of the blondest bears at Brooks River. She has blond body fur and blond ears. Her claws are dark with tan-colored tips. In early summer she also has dark eye-rings.
Born in 2018, 131 is a young bear who has only recently begun life on her own. She was first identified as an independent two-year-old in 2020. The life of a subadult bear is often one filled with challenges. It is a time when a young bear must learn to navigate the world without mother’s guidance. Subadult bears rank at the bottom of the bear hierarchy. They are frequently displaced from productive fishing spots or prevented from accessing them by the presence of larger bears. Without easy access to salmon in early summer, 131 was forced to adapt and search for alternative foods, such as small mammals and vegetation. As she continues to grow and gain skill, 131 seems well positioned to use the lessons she learned with her mother and pick up some new tricks of her own to survive.
131
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
This relatively small subadult (teenage) female bear is one of the blondest bears at Brooks River. She has blond body fur and blond ears. Her claws are dark with tan-colored tips. In early summer she also has dark eye-rings.
Born in 2018, 131 is a young bear who has only recently begun life on her own. She was first identified as an independent two-year-old in 2020. The life of a subadult bear is often one filled with challenges. It is a time when a young bear must learn to navigate the world without mother’s guidance. Subadult bears rank at the bottom of the bear hierarchy. They are frequently displaced from productive fishing spots or prevented from accessing them by the presence of larger bears. Without easy access to salmon in early summer, 131 was forced to adapt and search for alternative foods, such as small mammals and vegetation. As she continues to grow and gain skill, 131 seems well positioned to use the lessons she learned with her mother and pick up some new tricks of her own to survive.
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
503
503 Cubadult is a medium-small subadult bear, but is quite large for his age and has tall, lanky legs. In July his fur is light to medium-brown. He has dark eye rings and a dark face. His neck and head are last to shed. In the fall, his fur darkens to a grizzled-brown, and is slightly lighter on his head and neck. He has a protruding lower lip, tall brown ears, and dark claws.
503 Cubadult has a unique life history. As a cub, 503 originally belonged to 402, but after an unusually timed series of events, he was abandoned by his biological mother in early July 2014. Most cubs are pushed away by their mothers in the spring after two to three (rarely four) summers. As a lone and small yearling, he faced many threats to his survival, not the least of which was other bears. Since he was then independent and observed during several bear monitoring sessions, he was assigned #503.
By the end of July, he was adopted by 435 Holly , a female with a single spring cub (now known as #719). 435 Holly treated her adopted yearling just like her biological female spring cub. She allowed him to nurse, take fish from her, and play with the spring cub. We will never know 435 Holly's reasons for adopting the yearling with any certainty, but bears, even young bears, are adaptable and smart. They possess the ability to recognize favorable situations and take advantage of them. In 503's case, the reward (protection, food) was worth taking the risk (intolerant bear, injury, death) of approaching a strange bear. If he had approached an intolerant female too closely, he could have been injured or killed. Instead, his strategy helped to ensure his survival into subadulthood.
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
holly
503 Cubadult is a medium-small subadult bear, but is quite large for his age and has tall, lanky legs. In July his fur is light to medium-brown. He has dark eye rings and a dark face. His neck and head are last to shed. In the fall, his fur darkens to a grizzled-brown, and is slightly lighter on his head and neck. He has a protruding lower lip, tall brown ears, and dark claws.
503 Cubadult has a unique life history. As a cub, 503 originally belonged to 402, but after an unusually timed series of events, he was abandoned by his biological mother in early July 2014. Most cubs are pushed away by their mothers in the spring after two to three (rarely four) summers. As a lone and small yearling, he faced many threats to his survival, not the least of which was other bears. Since he was then independent and observed during several bear monitoring sessions, he was assigned #503.
By the end of July, he was adopted by 435 Holly , a female with a single spring cub (now known as #719). 435 Holly treated her adopted yearling just like her biological female spring cub. She allowed him to nurse, take fish from her, and play with the spring cub. We will never know 435 Holly's reasons for adopting the yearling with any certainty, but bears, even young bears, are adaptable and smart. They possess the ability to recognize favorable situations and take advantage of them. In 503's case, the reward (protection, food) was worth taking the risk (intolerant bear, injury, death) of approaching a strange bear. If he had approached an intolerant female too closely, he could have been injured or killed. Instead, his strategy helped to ensure his survival into subadulthood.
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
chunk
Chunk is a large adult male with narrowly-set eyes, a prominent brow ridge, and a distinctive scar across his muzzle. Even at his leanest, Chunk carries substantial fat reserves, especially on his hind quarters. In early summer he tends to shed much of the fur around his shoulders and neck. This gives him a two-toned appearance and exposes numerous scars and wounds. By late summer, his newly grown fur is dark brown
Chunk was first identified in 2007 as an independent, chunky-looking 2.5-year-old bear. He now ranks among the river’s largest and most dominant males. This allows him greater access to mating opportunities and fishing spots. Like most large bears, Chunk is not hesitant to challenge and displace others from the resources he wants. Yet, his behavior can also be enigmatic. In past years, he’d wait patiently to scavenge leftover salmon and even played with other bears. These are two uncommon behaviors for a dominant bear to display.
Due to his size and strength, Chunk is poised to take advantage of opportunities not available to most other bears. But, it is only by observing his full range of behaviors that we can get a true sense of his individuality.
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
747
Bear 747 is a very large adult male with a blocky muzzle and a floppy right ear. In early summer, his reddish-brown fur sheds in a patchy manner. Like many adult males, he often has scars and wounds on his face and neck. In late summer and fall, he is typically very fat with a low-hanging belly and uniformly dark brown fur.
Few brown bears ever grow as large as the bear who shares an identification number with a jet airplane. When 747 was first identified in 2004, he was a relatively young bear, only a few years old and unable to compete with larger bears for the most preferred fishing locations. Since then, he has become one of the largest brown bears on Earth, perhaps weighing as much as 1,400 pounds (636 kg).
He is a skilled and efficient angler who is found fishing most often in the jacuzzi or near the far pool of Brooks Falls. In 2022, he fished at Brooks Falls almost every day between late June and mid-September. Only rival males of comparable size, of which there are very few, challenge 747 for fishing spots. Despite his great size, 747 yielded to the river’s most dominant bear, 856, for many years. That changed in summer 2021 when 747 asserted his dominance over his rival. Surprisingly, 747 yielded space numerous times to 856 in early summer 2022, but their positions in the hierarchy switched by late summer. When he was present in late August and September, 747 was again the river’s most dominant bear.
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
walker
Holly is a large adult female with blond ears and pale, tan-colored claws. By early autumn, she is usually very fat with grizzled blond fur. Her appearance at that time somewhat resembles the shape and color of a lightly toasted marshmallow.
When she was first identified in 2001, Holly was just maturing into an adult. Since then, she has reared several litters of cubs and in the process has become one of the most experienced bears at Brooks River.
Her motherly journey hasn’t been without hardship. When Holly and her single yearling arrived in 2007, the yearling had a pronounced limp. Despite the challenges that accompanied her yearling’s injury, Holly successfully cared for him. This bear, now known as 89 Backpack, still uses Brooks River. In 2014 Holly adopted a lone yearling cub into her family. Holly cared for and raised this bear alongside her biological cub, weaning them both in the spring of 2016. Each of those bears are now successful adults—503 and 719. Holly’s spring cub in 2020—now identified as bear 335—suffered from porcupine quills in a front paw, but when Holly returned in 2021 her cub appeared to be fully healed. She was the 2019 Fat Bear Week champion.
This bear has a medium large body with large (furry) dark forearms. His coat is brown, grizzled, and generally uniform with blondish ears. 634 Popeye's muzzle is short and upturned. He lacks distinctive scars.
634 Popeye fishes the far pool and the lip of the falls. 634 will aggressively steal fish from smaller bears, especially early in the salmon run. 634 occasionally wanders through the lower Brooks River area, including through camp. This is one bear that may been seen near Brooks Camp in May and early June.
popeye
popeye
katmai, alaska
fat bear week paradise
Katmai, Alaska, has a vibrant ecosystem for bears to bulk up before winter hibernation, a necessity for survival. Katmai Conservancy is an organization dedicated to preserving grizzly bear and wildlife habitats through education, interpretation, and research to work toward making public lands understood, appreciated, and preserved for all to enjoy.
learn more
We've partnered with The Vital Ground Foundation to support their grant-making program to support bears and their habitat in Katmai, Alaska.
How can you help? Vote on explore.org during Fat Bear week to determine which bear you believe should be the chonk champion. We're donating 10 cents per vote up to $100,000 to support bear and land conservation.
your participation makes a chonky impact
learn more
kodiak will donate 10 cents (up to $100,000) per vote to support the bears and their habitat in katmai, alaska.
Sign up for our VIP sms list so you can get first dibs on Kodiak KIW merch and more information about the movement.
sign up for vip
Sign up for our VIP sms list so you can get first dibs on Kodiak KIW merch and more information about the movement.
sign up for vip