Backpack — Fat Bear Week 2026 Champion
Before he became a champion, Bear 89 was a cub who climbed onto his mother Holly’s back as they swam Brooks River. The habit gave Backpack his name. A serious leg injury in 2007 made his survival uncertain, but he recovered and grew into a familiar salmon fisherman at Brooks Falls. On 29 September 2026, he won Fat Bear Week’s public vote, narrowly defeating Bear 910. Behind that title lies a connected landscape of lakes, spawning salmon and seasonal feeding grounds. These places explain the river system that sustains him, from his mother’s sheltered fishing area to the falls and the lakes beyond.
