{"id":8359,"date":"2026-05-01T05:56:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T04:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/?p=8359"},"modified":"2026-05-01T05:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T04:56:39","slug":"reigning-fat-bear-week-champion-chunk-back-in-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/?p=8359","title":{"rendered":"Reigning Fat Bear Week champion \u2018Chunk\u2019 back in spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A massive brown bear named Chunk, winner of the 2025 Fat Bear Week competition, has been spotted in Alaska\u2019s Katmai National Park.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The accompanying footage was captured this week by National Park Service maintenance workers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Chunk the brown bear in 2025.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"576\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/7osG_PMWfjB0zLTNFq3DSA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU3NjtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ftw_outdoors_usa_today_article_609\/6cd3bf4af5145e1578851d2819fb7895\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Chunk the brown bear in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It shows a hibernation-slimmed Chunk walking across snow in what Fat Bear Week declared via <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DXueuvaARPr\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Instagram;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Instagram<\/a> to be the &#8220;Return of the Champ.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Late April and May are when Katmai National Park\u2019s brown bears begin to emerge from hibernation. But the salmon-gorging season on the Brooks River won&#8217;t ramp up until late June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">ALSO: Grizzly bear&#8217;s misadventure on stacked hay bails caught on video<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">According to the <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/katmaiconservancy.org\/bear-32-chunk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Katmai Conservancy;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Katmai Conservancy<\/a>, Chunk is cataloged as Bear 32, a male brown bear first identified in 2007.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He earned his nickname because &#8220;his large hindquarters give him a chunky silhouette.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some Fat Bear Week followers noted that Chunk\u2019s jaw appears to be somewhat healed, although that&#8217;s difficult to ascertain based on the footage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Chunk emerged last year with a broken jaw and split lip that looked painful but did not prevent him from feeding throughout the summer and fall. (See top image.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/katmaiconservancy.org\/fatbearweek\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Katmai Conservancy;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Katmai Conservancy<\/a> wrote after Fat Bear Week: &#8220;Chunk is a prime example of what it means to be resilient. Facing a broken jaw throughout the summer, nobody knew what the season would look like for him, but there is no denying that he defied all expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/katm\/learn\/nature\/fat-bear-week-past-and-present.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Fat Bear Week;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Fat Bear Week<\/a> is a fan-driven, bracket-style competition conducted each fall as a celebration of the bears\u2019 success in packing enough calories to keep them sustained through the winter. Fans can watch the bears via live-feed cameras that will become active during the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Explore.org currently has a <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/explore.org\/livecams\/brown-bears\/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:2025 highlight video;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2025 highlight video<\/a> playing on its Brooks Falls cam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>This article originally appeared on For The Win: <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ftw.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/outdoors\/2026\/04\/30\/famously-fat-brown-bear-chunk-out-of-hibernation-alaska\/89881037007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Famously fat brown bear named Chunk out of hibernation in Alaska;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Famously fat brown bear named Chunk out of hibernation in Alaska<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A massive brown bear named Chunk, winner of the 2025 Fat Bear Week competition, has been spotted in Alaska\u2019s Katmai National Park. The accompanying footage was captured this week by National Park Service maintenance workers. Chunk the brown bear in 2025. It shows a hibernation-slimmed Chunk walking across snow in what Fat Bear Week declared [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12624,12391,293,13263,323,2534,10557,3424,60,6058,13265,13260,13266,9372,1716,835,13259,13262,2437,7257,13267,8430,1007,2669,48,1191,923,67,66,13258,13261,621,225,182,13268,5640,2275,5935,511,13264,5504,1162],"class_list":["post-8359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets-news","tag-accompanying","tag-alaska","tag-bear","tag-bear-week","tag-bears","tag-broken","tag-brooks","tag-brown","tag-captured","tag-champion","tag-champion-chunk","tag-chunk","tag-chunk-spotlight","tag-competition","tag-conservancy","tag-fall","tag-fat","tag-fat-bear","tag-footage","tag-hibernation","tag-katmai","tag-late","tag-maintenance","tag-massive","tag-named","tag-national","tag-park","tag-pe-ts-fun","tag-pets-news","tag-reigning","tag-reigning-fat","tag-season","tag-service","tag-shows","tag-slimmed","tag-spotlight","tag-spotted","tag-summer","tag-week","tag-week-champion","tag-winner","tag-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pe-ts.fun\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}