Previously on Bearcam

[00:00:11][music] >> Chunk arrived in June 2025 with a broken jaw.

[00:00:27]He also had a fresh subdermal wound on one of his feet and new wounds on his upper body.

[00:00:34]>> His jaw probably was broken in a fight with another bear. I know people have speculated about other possibilities and we don't know for sure, but I'm I'm I'm willing to bet that it was in a fight with another bear. They just locked jaws and they twisted [music] and and Chunk just happened to break part of his mandible. So, I'm sure he's in a lot of pain.

[00:00:52]>> Bears are so resilient. These especially these big males, they get into fights yearly over food, over cells, [music] whatever it may be.

[00:01:05]Chunk came back like he had [music] never hibernated. He was so big.

[00:01:11]So, those fat [music] stores that he came back with will also help him. He may not be able to eat as many salmon as he did last year.

[00:01:21]You know, as difficult [music] as this is to watch, I love seeing it because he mean it means he can >> [music] >> catch fish and eat them. But he also has those fat reserves still.

[00:01:31]I have a lot of faith that he's going [music] to do okay.

[00:01:34]>> He'll He'll remain at the top of the hierarchy as well uh just because he's such a huge [music] bear. A lot of those younger adult males that aren't comparable in size, they're going to defer to him just because he's so giant.

[00:01:44]It's really going to have to be the bears that are that are in his or near his his class in size that will be able to to displace him. So, he'll still have [music] that advantage.

[00:01:56]His broken jaw isn't so much of a disability when he's trying to court a female.

[00:02:03]>> He was limping pretty severely, [music] too. And I don't know if love is the cure or >> Yeah, he's not going to let a jaw injury get him down. He'll still get fat. He'll still clearly court some females and maybe he'll be successful.

[00:02:20]>> He's a strong, dominant, and stubborn bear and he found a way to eat fish and to keep on going.

[00:02:30]>> He has powered through his injury, he is fishing, [music] and he is getting fatter than ever.

[00:02:49]>> This year he's asserting his dominance [music] and he's doing it very purposefully.

[00:02:56]He has grown in size, but I think it's a really [music] good example how a younger adult bear can assert dominance [music] even when he's only 8 years old.

[00:03:09]>> And you can you can tell the mood of these bears by looking at their postures, [music] their ear positions.

[00:03:15]Again, the 230 on the right, he's standing. [music] He's trying to make himself look bigger, but his his ears are held back against his head.

[00:03:23]That means he's feeling defensive.

[00:03:25]Meanwhile, number 164 on the left, he's a he's becoming a really big guy for his age.

[00:03:32]>> It's not like 164 is, you know, trying [music] to vie for a better fishing spot. I don't know if that other bear in the scene was a female and he's like, "Oh, no, I want that female." or something [music] like that, but it really was just him testing his dominance to see if he can overpower other bears.

[00:03:48]>> He is definitely trying to throw his weight around, um, but he also has that opportunity because bears who are essentially more dominant and bigger than he is are kind of [music] out of the picture. We haven't seen 747 or 856 [music] yet, or Chunk. He's quite injured, so he's not in the mix. [music] >> They can express dominance, no matter their age, uh, essentially. It's [music] just, you know, if they're if they experience the right circumstance uh, in that moment, then they can be the dominant [music] bear in that moment.

[00:04:28]Once bears learn that you're assertive, that you're tough, that you're not to be, uh, messed with, then those big dominant bears have this [music] advantage of being basically to go wherever they want, whenever they want.

[00:04:59]>> It's like you could walk across the river and never hit water this time of year, where they're just full of fish climbing over each other try to make their way up river.

[00:05:09]Um, it's really quite a sight to see these, uh, salmon coming back upstream, uh, and getting to their spawning grounds. It's really incredible.

[00:05:17]>> I mean, isn't that a beautiful sight?

[00:05:20]You know, look below the falls. It's just bubbling with fish.

[00:05:25]And the whole river's like that.

[00:05:28]>> We should expect rivers [music] and streams to be full of fish.

[00:05:31]So, this, again, remember this. This is these sort of scenes should be our historic baseline. Um, you know, so many of our streams [music] and rivers and watersheds in North America suffer from pollution, habitat loss, things like that. Uh, and that that means that fish populations suffer.

[00:05:49]But there are no dams, there are no there's no major water diversion projects or really any water diversion projects in the Bristol Bay area. This is wild salmon, wild watersheds, no farmed fish in this area either.

[00:06:03]It's almost [music] counterintuitive that when there are super high abundance of fish like this, we [music] see fewer bears fishing at Brooks Falls.

[00:06:13]>> One reason is that they can [music] fish anywhere in the river now, and a lot of bears who are lower in the hierarchy don't want to come to the falls because they don't have to compete as much when they're on the lower river. The other thing is they're getting their fill.

[00:06:29]>> The the strong run this year [music] it bodes well for the near future.

[00:06:44]>> Some call him the Floatato, some say he is unsinkable, many more say he is a giant who embraced change in his habits to take advantage of [music] opportunity.

[00:06:53]>> When he was spotted on July 7th around that time, rarely do I remember seeing a day where he wasn't at the falls.

[00:07:01]And perhaps one of the most identifiable [music] characteristics of 602 is his little stomping dance he does, which is possibly a response to high adrenaline or excitement. One nickname I heard for this dance was the mashed potato, which I think fits pretty well with the Floatato nickname he earned [music] this summer.

[00:07:20]>> Oh my god, this bear. You just want to go up and rub his little belly.

[00:07:25]>> Yeah, that's not a good idea, Sarah.

[00:07:28]>> [laughter] >> It reminds me of like anytime you've ever seen Homer Simpson laying in a pool, they always draw his like belly >> [laughter] >> The bear activity has been fairly predictable. It's just a lot of eating and a lot of play.

[00:07:52]>> There is just so much salmon in the river right now that [music] you know, there's there's still a hierarchy on the river, uh but we're just not seeing it in action, like [music] vying for dominance and things like that because the bears are just so well-fed.

[00:08:08]>> Here are two very full bears.

[00:08:13]Very >> [music] >> happily playing. 32, Chunk, last year was just Mr. Dominant. You just wouldn't have seen him play. This to me speaks of the health of the ecosystem and [music] the health of these bears.

[00:08:31]>> Play is super important not only at the developmental [music] stages, but also uh when bears are older because [music] that's how they learn in order to move up the hierarchy and things like that.

[00:08:43]>> We really had so little play on the river in the last couple of years because the bears had to work so hard to make a living. I think under other circumstances and another year, um they might not be so friendly. [music] >> It's all due to the salmon. We wouldn't see them playing with each other if they had to compete over food.

[00:09:15]>> Fat Bear Week is a celebration of the ecosystems in Katmai National Park. Fat bears are an indicator of healthy ecosystems, so we're here to celebrate all of the hard work >> [music] >> that the fat bears have done throughout the season.

[00:09:27]>> Let's meet the bears of Fat [music] Bear Week in 2025.

[00:09:30]>> Bear 99.

[00:09:32]>> Bear number 26.

[00:09:33]>> Bear 856, one of the oldest bears on the river. Bear number 909. Bear number 128.

[00:09:38][music] >> This is 32, Chunk.

[00:09:42]>> 128 Junior.

[00:09:43]>> 503.

[00:09:44]>> He [music] faces a bear who has ranked among the absolute fattest.

[00:09:48]>> 609.

[00:09:49]>> Bear 602.

[00:09:50]>> 910. She is big. She is beautiful.

[00:09:54]>> 901. Oh my god, she's never been fatter.

[00:09:58]>> And Chunk is your 2025 Fat Bear Week champion.

[00:10:03]After dedicating themselves [music] to a summer-long effort gorging on salmon, berries, and other foods, brown bears at Brooks River in Katmai National Park have reached peak fat.

[00:10:14]>> Bringing [music] Fat Bear Week into the homes of millions of people is really, really exciting for us. And then it's also just a joyous time.

[00:10:21]>> The 2025 Katmai Bear Cam season was unforgettable.

[00:10:25]What stories will unfold at Brooks River this summer?

[00:10:29]Join us to find out on the bear cams, brought to you by Katmai National Park and explore.org.