Backpack is a 20-year-old bear known for sitting alone for long stretches on his rock along the Brooks River. Rangers with the park announced the results after more than 2.3 million votes came in across the online tournament, with over 200,000 cast in the final round alone. The contest, run each year by the park, asks the public to pick which brown bear packed on the most weight ahead of winter.
The event has turned into an annual tradition that draws attention to Katmai's population of almost 2,000 brown bears and how they fatten up on salmon before hibernating. Voters get a window into individual bears' personalities and survival strategies, and a quiet, solitary bear like Backpack winning over a flashier favorite shows just how invested people get in these animals' stories. For the park, it's a yearly spike in interest, and a reminder of what bears need to survive winter.