Bears not announced

The bears are on their way.

A bracket pool for Fat Bear Week — the National Park Service’s annual vote on which brown bear at Katmai got fattest before hibernation.

NPS announces this year’s bears on a live webcast, and your bracket opens the moment it lands. Make an account now and it’s waiting for you.

Bracket reveal: Friday, September 18 · 3:00 PM ET
Watch the webcast ↗
Picks close: Tuesday, September 22 · 12:00 PM ET
Voting opens: Tuesday, September 22 · 12:00 PM ET
then daily, noon to 9:00 PM ET, at explore.org ↗

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How it works

One week, twelve colossal bears, one crown. Here’s how it goes.

Step 1
The bears are announced

The National Park Service reveals the Fat Bear Week bracket: Katmai’s biggest brown bears, seeded head to head for the title of fattest bear in America.
Step 2
You fill out a bracket

Pick a winner for every matchup before picks close. Your picks save as you go, and you’re automatically in the main pool with everyone else.
Step 3
The world votes

It’s single elimination, one round at a time. The public votes on each day’s matchup at explore.org, and the fattest bear moves on. See the schedule ↗
Step 4
Your bracket gets scored

As results come in, every bracket and every pool’s standings update. Each round is worth the same total points, so picks in later rounds are worth more each.
Step 5
A champion is crowned

At the end of the week, one magnificently round bear takes the crown, and the bracket with the most points leads the pack.

Make an account and a bracket

You get one bracket per Fat Bear Week, and it’s yours all tournament long.
Make or join pools

Start a pool for your friends, family or office, or join one from an invite link. Your one bracket counts in every pool you’re in, so you never pick twice.
See how you stack up

Check the standings in each pool and see how everyone else picked once brackets lock.