Fat Bear Week, Round 2: Big boys Walker vs. Bucky Dent, and a sister battle

The big boys battle and two sisters go head-to-head in Round 2 of Fat Bear Week voting. Ace fisherbear #164 (Bucky Dent) managed to dethrone 2025 champ Bear #32 (Chunk) in Round 1 and will now face Brooks River regular, Bear #151 (Walker) and his mighty rear end. We also see two families with fascinating stories face each other.

Voting opens at 12pm EDT and ends at 9pm EDT (9am-6pm PDT, 8am-5pm AKDT). Read more about the bears battling today below and cast your vote at explore.org.

Bear #132 and cubs vs. Bear #806 and cubs

Mama Bear #132 boasts one of Fat Bear Week’s most compelling stories. She faced challenges this summer when one of her spring cubs separated from the family. Bear #132 emerged from slumber this year with three spring cubs, her fourth known litter. Around mid-July, one of her cubs somehow ended up on its own and was later spotted wandering the Brooks River area unaccompanied. The cub tried approaching other families, only to be chased away or ignored.

Cubs without a mother’s protection face numerous threats—attacks from other bears, starvation, and more life-threatening risks. Bear #132’s cub managed to survive and reunited with its family after several days alone. This is Bear #132’s first appearance at Fat Bear Week.

Bear #806 made headlines this summer after being at the center of a shocking story: She attacked, killed, and ate an unrelated spring cub on July 28. The live-cams captured the brown bear cub being killed and eaten by 806 as her spring cubs looked on. The killed cub was the child of Bear #909, a 10-year-old brown bear. Bear #909 started the season with two cubs, but has now lost both. 909 also prevailed in the first round and could face her cub’s killer in the next round.

Bear #806 had her own two cubs with her at time of the attack: a 2.5-year-old cub and 1.5-year-old cub. The 2.5-year-old cub, nicknamed “Biggie” (Junior #128), was adopted by Bear #806 earlier this spring after being abandoned by her mother, two-time Fat Bear Week champion Grazer. Bear #806’s cubs were seen interacting with the cub prior to the attack. After pursuing and killing the cub, Bear #806 was seen feeding on the cub’s body. Park rangers believe that this was the first documented case of infanticide by a female adult that’s happened at Brooks River. This is also Bear #806’s first time competing in Fat Bear Week.

Bear #909 vs. Bear #910

It’s sister vs. sister in Round 2 of Fat Bear Week.

As mentioned earlier, Bear #909 was part of Katmai’s most shocking and tragic storylines this summer. On July 28, she lost her only surviving 2026 cub in an attack by Bear #806. 909 started the season with two cubs but lost her first being in unknown circumstances before the death of her second cub. After the attack, she was seen near where the incident occurred, chasing away other bears.

“She displayed her resilience in the face of loss by navigating the rest of the summer with determination and skill,” explore.org says of 909. “The effort is reflected in her plentiful body fat.”

She is the offspring Bear #409 Beadnose, a two-time Fat Bear Week champion (2015 and 2018), and sister to 910, who she now faces in Round 2 of voting. She made her Fat Bear Week debut in 2025.

Not only are 909 and 910 sisters, they’re also at the center of a fascinating family dynamic.

In 2022, 910 blended her family with her sister Bear #909’s family. In the process, she adopted her sister’s 2.5-year-old female yearling cub (a 1- to 2-year-old cub still with its mother), while she herself had a spring cub (a first-year cub that was born over the winter and emerges in the spring). Adoptions like these are exceptionally rare in the wild, and it is believed to be only the second such adoption at Katmai. She also made her Fat Bear Week debut in 2025.

Bear #620 vs. Bear #89 (Backpack)

Subadult Bear #620 is also a member of Katmai’s ‘Brady Bunch’ blended family. In 2023, Bear #620’s mother Bear #910 blended her family with her sister Bear #909’s family in an event rarely observed amongst Brown Bears. 620 was raised with her cousin, Bear #690 (Bean), who won the Fat Bear Week Junior competition in 2022. Both her mom and her aunt are also still in the competition and facing off against each other today. This is her first year competing in Fat Bear Week and she faces a formidable challenger with a loyal online following.

Bear #89 (Backpack) is the 10.5-year-old son of Bear #435 (Holly), the 2019 Fat Bear Week champion. He might have the most fun nickname on the Brooks River, which he earned because of his habit of climbing on his mother’s back as a cub when the pair navigated the Brooks River waters.

Backpack has had to fight to survive. In 2007 as a yearling, he emerged in the spring with a significant leg injury that prevented him from walking properly. Rangers feared he might not survive the season. But with help from him mom, he recovered and has emerged as a consistent resident at Brooks Falls.

And finally, the chunkiest battle of the day pits two of the Brooks River’s most dominant bears against each. (Editor’s note: This is also the most contested battle in the Popular Science newsroom with our editors equally split and fiercely passionate.)

In one corner, Bear #151 (Walker), a once playful and chill bear who emerged in 2026 with a new attitude. Walker has competed in Fat Bear Week since 2018 without ever taking home the top honors. In his early days of competing, he lost out to legends like two-time champion Grazer (2023 and 2024) and four-time champion Otis (2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021).

At the Brooks River, Walker is a regular. If Brooks River was the TV show Cheers, he’d be Norm. Rangers first identified him in 2009 as an independent 2.5 year old. As a sub-adult bear, he showed off his playful side and could be seen in light-hearted scraps with other young bears, including Bears #503 (Cubadult), #289, 2025 Fat Bear Week champion #32 (Chunk). He was often referred to as relaxed and no-drama, despite his large size and general dominance on the Brooks Falls during the salmon migration.

This year, Walker emerged as a more dominant bear unafraid to defend his spot on the hierarchy. Younger males like Bears #164 (Bucky Dent), who he faces in voting today, could challenge Walker as they grow to full-size and maturity, and vie for a spot atop the pecking order.

Bear #164 (Bucky Dent) is a 7.5-year-old adult male that is so good at catching fish, he invented a new way to locate them as a subadult bear.

Bucky first appeared in the area in 2019 and rangers do not know the identity of his parents. In 2021 as a relatively smaller subadult bear with lots of competition, he struggled to secure a good fishing spot. So to find salmon, he invented a new fishing method. He stood at the deepest plunge pool under the cascade of Brooks Falls. Here, he could catch fish that welled up from the pool below, jumping up through the air, or falling from the falls above. No other bear has used this technique. Now that Bucky Dent ranks among the largest bears, he can fish wherever he wants. 

Bucky and Bear #909 are often spotted searching for salmon together, and don’t seem to mind close fishing quarters.

Cast your vote Friday between 12-9pm EDT (9am-6pm PDT, 8am-5pm AKDT) at explore.org. The overall winner will be crowned on Tuesday, September 29. 

If you’d like another way to support the bears, donations can be made to Katmai Conservancy’s Otis Fund. The Otis Fund is named after Bear #480 (Otis), who won four Fat Bear Week titles before his death around 2024.  All donations made between September 22 and October 3 will be matched by explore.org.