Fat Bear season officially kicks off today with live cam
Popular Science...
Bear enthusiasts, rejoice. The bear cam livestream officially returns today for the 2026 season. The cameras along the Brooks River and at Brook Falls in Alaska’s Katmai National Park put the park’s famous brown bears (Ursus arctos) front and center, as they dig into their summer salmon feast.
How can I watch the Katmai Bear Cam?
The camera officially goes live on June 23 and 11 a.m. ADT (3 p.m. EDT). You can watch the livestream on explore.org or YouTube.
Explore.org first started livestreaming the action in 2012. It will also host live chats so viewers can ask questions.
What are the bears doing?
Every year in late June, brown bears return to Brooks Falls for the salmon migration. There, they will feast to fatten up for the long winter ahead. By late summer, the nutritious fish will spawn and then begin to die. The bears will then move to the lower Brooks River in September and October to eat the dead and dying salmon near the river’s mouth.
July and September are the busiest months for the bear cam. They are most active during the daytime hours and can eat upwards of 120 pounds of salmon per day. Viewers may also spot wolves, eagles, and gulls.
How much weight do bears gain over the summer?
If there is enough salmon, the bears can pack on about one pound per day. An adult male bear can go from roughly 700 pounds when the season begins to over 1,200 pounds by the fall.
Packing on the pounds ahead of winter is a matter of life and death for the bears. They can lose up to one third of their body weight as they slow down in the winter, so they rely on all of that stored fat for energy. The more bulk they put on in the summer, the more likely they are to survive the long Alaskan winter.
What is the difference between brown bears and grizzly bears?
Brown bears and grizzly bears are the same species, but the main differences come down to location and diet. In Alaska, brown bears are larger than grizzlies, eat salmon, and live near the coast. Grizzlies live further inland in Alaska and eat insects, vegetation, and berries.
The term “grizzly” refers to the brown bears that live inland. In other words, all grizzly bears are brown bears, but not all brown bears are grizzlies since some of them live on the coast.
Are these the same bears from Fat Bear Week?
Yes! Every September, Katmai hosts a bracket style tournament where the public can vote online to crown Katmai’s fattest bear of the year.
In April, maintenance workers spotted 2025 Fat Bear Week champion Chunk as he emerged from hibernation. The roughly 1,200-pound adult male was spotted walking along on a patch of ice in the park.
Last year, Chunk began the salmon run with a freshly broken jaw. He was likely injured while fighting with another bear for a mate, but he still managed to catch plenty of fish
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