America's most keenly awaited animal competition has come to its corpulent conclusion, with Chunk named the winner of this year's Fat Bear Week.

Chunk looking chunky in a previous year of Fat Bear Week. (E. Johnston/NPS)

The enormous beast chewed his way through thousands of kilograms (pounds) of salmon in Alaska's Katmai National Park to be voted the chubbiest bear in the tongue-in-cheek contest, which highlights the creatures' preparation for months of hibernation.

The bear – who had no idea he was competing – beat out a stiff challenge from two-time winner Grazer, denying her an unprecedented three-peat of which she was also entirely unaware.

Hundreds of thousands of votes were cast by people all over the world, who compared before-and-after pictures of the animals in a series of head-to-head ballots.

Before and after photos of Chunk, the winner of Fat Bear Week 2025. (C. Loberg, T. Cormack, Candice Rusch/explore.org)

The contest began in 2014, aiming to raise awareness of brown bears and their habitat in Alaska, as well as the risks they face from human activity.

Around 2,000 bears in the park start chubbing up in late summer and early fall.

They can eat up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of salmon a day as they prepare for five months of hibernation.

During the deep sleep, the animals rarely wake to eat, drink, or even go to the toilet, emerging famished – and a lot thinner – in the spring.

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