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Fat Bear Week winner: Who was the biggest of them all?

A large brown bear lies down whilst holding a block of vegetables in its pawsMarcos del Mazo/Getty

The moment you've been waiting for is here...

Time to find out who the winner of the Fat Bear Week competition 2025 is.

12 brown bears have been battling it out in Alaska's Katmai National Park to win the title of the fattest bear.

The mighty mammals need to gain lots of weight to survive the cold months, so the annual tournament celebrates their success in preparing for winter hibernation.

But who took gold this year? Read on to find out!

The winner is... Chunk!

A large brown bear with a broken jaw that hangs to the side stands in a flowing river in front of a waterfallKatmai National Park and Preserve

Chunk's bulking game is paws-itively legendary

Chunk stole the title from two-time reigning champion Grazer.

He's been described as "the most dominant brown bear on the river" and gained nearly 100,000 votes in the final.

That's despite suffering for most of the season with a broken jaw.

Maybe it was this resilience, as well as his ability to eat huge amounts of salmon and berries, that won the hearts of the public?

Taking silver is... 856!

A skinny brown bear walks along a shallow river with grass in the background Katmai National Park and Preserve

This was 856 back in June...

856 might have missed the top spot, but he still clawed his way to un-bear-lievable weight gain.

Check out these before and after photos.

A chunky brown bear stands in the middle of a flowing riverKatmai National Park and Preserve

... and this was 856 in September after piling on the pounds

What is Fat Bear Week?

A brown bears sits upright basking in the sunlight by a pool of water in a forestAnadolu/Getty

Let's press the 'paws' button - why is this competition happening at all?

Fat Bear Week started in 2014 and has since become a bit of a global sensation, with more than a million people voting for their favourite bear.

The aim of the game is to see which Alaskan brown bear has gained the most weight ahead of winter.

The annual tournament places the bears head-to-head and asks the public to vote for who they think has made the most impressive weight gain.

At the end of the week-long knockout competition, only one emerges as the champion.

Katmai National Park's rangers run the competition and they say it's an opportunity to have fun but also to educate people about brown bears.

"It is a way to celebrate the resilience, adaptability and strength of Katmai's brown bears."

What is hibernation?

A small brown bear walks through the snow with trees behind itDukas/Getty

Hibernation is a way for animals - such as butterflies, hedgehogs, bears and bats - to survive cold winters without having to hunt for food or move to somewhere warmer.

Instead, they head into cosy dens and go into a sleep-like state for a few months, where they don't eat or drink, and turn down their metabolisms to save energy.

And according to the national park, "fat bears are successful bears".

It's very important that the bears bulk up before hibernation season, as they can lose up to a third of their body weight in this time.

So, the more weight they put on, the better they'll do during the cold months.