Before and after photos of 2025 Fat Bear Week contest finalists Bear 32 Chunk and Bear 856
Bear 32 Chunk was a Fat Bear Week finalist in both 2023 and 2024.
Bear 856 is one of the largest bears in the river.

There's a new Fat Bear Week winner.

Fat Bear 32 Chunk was crowned the 2025 champion of the annual park contest on Sept. 30.

Out of more than 160,000 votes, Bear 32 Chunk, a male weighing over 1,200 pounds, topped Bear 856, a grizzled veteran male bear, to become champion.

The draw came down to two thick adult male competitors: champion Bear 32 Chunk and Bear 856.

Bear 32 Chunk received 96,350 votes, and Bear 856 netted 63,725 votes.

Fat Bear Week is an annual celebration of success and survival, according to the National Park Service.

In total, 20 brown bear competitors from Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska spent all summer chomping down on salmon to compete in this year's chow off.

The contest, in which bears vie for votes to win the portly crown, is headquartered on the edge of the park in King Salmon, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Here's what to know about the two finalists and the 2025 winner:

The bulk up: See the finalists

Here are before and after photos of Bear 32 Chunk and Bear 856 during pre-hibernation bulk up.

Winner: Bear 32 Chunk

Fat Bear Week's website describes Chunk as one of the largest bears along the Brooks River. That's where Katmai’s famous bears feast on salmon all summer long.

His features include narrow-set eyes, a strong brow ridge, "a distinctive scar across his muzzle and a broken, yet healing jaw." It’s believed he may have permanently injured his jaw in a fight with another bear this past mating season.

Initially, there were concerns about Chunk being able to maintain dominance along the river and pack on enough pounds to survive the upcoming winter, but the event’s website says, "Chunk used his determination and adaptability to persevere through injury."

Runner up: Bear 856

Bear 856 is another massive adult male, "with an assertive disposition equal to his size," according to Fat Bear Week’s website.

For more than a decade, he was "the river’s most consistently dominant bear." However, now that he’s in his mid-20s, bear 856 picks his battles carefully, often yielding to larger bears.

The website says he also patiently fishes in less productive areas of the river, and "when fishing, he frequently licks his lips."

Who won Fat Bear Week last year?

Last year's Fat Bear Winner was Mama bear 128 Grazer, who received over 70,000 votes.

Despite her cub being killed by her opponent in July 2024, Grazer pulled through and was crowned the 2024 champion.

Grazer was brought to Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska as a cub in 2005. The bear gave birth to two first-year cubs in 2024.

Contributing: Eve Chen

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fat Bear Week has a new winner! Bear 32 Chunk defeats Bear 856 in the annual contest.

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund and James Powel, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect