Alaska crowns its 'Fat Bear Week' champion

Meet Backpack, the 20-year-old bear who received the 'Fat Bear Week' title at Alaska’s Katmai National Park.

Known as '89 Backpack', the brown male bear won by 5,000 online votes with a total of 103,344 votes, outsizing the female '910' who got 98,253 in the final round of the competition.

More than 2.5 million votes were cast this year overall, and more than 200,000 votes in the final round alone.

The National Park says the competition celebrates the success of the bears, who "get fat enough" to prepare for their winter hibernation.

The event this year featured 16 bears battling for the heavyweight title in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament

While the crowned champion's weight has not been specifically revealed, Backpack is expected to weigh between 454- 544 kg. 

Backpack’s mother and former Fat Bear Week champion, Holly, introduced him to Brooks River when he was a first-year cub in 2006.

According to the National Park Service, as a cub, 89 had an injured paw and was often seen riding on the back of his sow, granting him the nickname “Backpack.”