1,200 pound bear wins Alaska’s popular Fat Bear Week Contest

By NBC News, Dillon Fuhrman, Manoah Tuiasosopo

October 1, 2025 12:15 PM

Published October 1, 2025 12:23 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (NBC, KYMA) - A 1,200 pound bear has become the winner of Alaska's popular Fat Bear Week contest.

Chunk, a towering brown bear with a broken jaw, swept the competition Tuesday in the popular contest. It is his first win after narrowly finishing in second place three previous years.

Chunk, known as Bear 32, beat out Bear 856, who does not have a nickname, in the final bracket.

Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating bears getting fat for winter hibernation.

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Dillon Fuhrman

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Manoah Tuiasosopo

Manoah Tuiasosopo joined the KYMA team as a videographer in February 2024. If you have story ideas, you can send them to his email at manoah.tuiasosopo@kecytv.com.

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