Get your popcorn (and maybe a plate of salmon sashimi) ready: Fat Bear Week, the annual competition to crown the rotundest brown bear at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, is back for its 2025 season.

Since 2014, Katmai National Park has hosted a March madness–style competition inviting the public to vote on their favorite bear from 12 of the park’s most robust residents. This year, the Fat Bear Week tournament and voting will take place September 23–30, and the champion will be crowned on September 30. The competition’s junior division just concluded, and its winner, 128 Jr, will join 11 other contenders in the main bracket.

Here’s what to know about the competition, how to watch the bears, and where to cast your ballot:

What the heck is Fat Bear Week, anyway?

If you’ve never participated

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