It's almost time for winter hibernation, and there's nothing cuter than following adorable bears and seeing how they prepare for their long winter rest.
That's exactly the premise of Fat Bear Week 2025, an annual celebration of bears that involves members of the public voting for Katmai National Park's fattest bear. Alaska's southernmost national park began its first Fat Bear Week all the way back in 2014, and by 2024, over one million people had voted from 100 different countries. Clearly, Fat Bear Week is a success – and it's time other national parks with many bears follow suit!
Sign now to tell Denali National Park and Glacier National Park: get in on the fun, and develop similar Fat Bear Week competitions to promote public awareness of bear conservation!
Fat Bear Week is an essential reminder of the connectedness of ecosystems – and how protecting one species means protecting many others, too. By highlighting the miraculous salmon runs in Katmai, Fat Bear Week is teaching hundreds of thousands of people about the complex and beautiful ecosystem thriving in the park. Voting for the fattest bear is not only adorable and hilarious, it can be an incredibly effective educational tool.
There are hundreds of bears living in Denali National Park and as many as 1,000 bears living in Glacier National Park. A simple and fun way to educate the public would be to create similar Fat Bear Weeks at these other parks! Sign the petition now if you agree!
