From chunky cuties to thick teddies, these brown bears from Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska spent all summer chomping down on salmon to compete in this year's annual Fat Bear Week.
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.
After a summer-long effort, the bears reached what they hoped to be peak plumpness, as the single-elimination tournaments begin Wednesday, Sept. 24. For each match-up, contestants vote for the bear they believe "best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears," officials wrote on the contest website.
The bears, set to hibernate later this year, with the most votes, advance to the next round, with only one crowned Fat Bear Week champion. But which beauty will the internet crown as the 2025 fat bear king or queen?
See breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and entertaining wild animal moments
