Bear 132 and her three cubs have won their opening Fat Bear Week 2026 matchup with 171,619 votes, the highest total among the four contests completed on September 23. Their opponents, 284’s family, finished with 46,449.

For the family at the center of July’s missing-cub reunion, the result means another round together. One of 132’s cubs spent several days separated from its mother and siblings before they reunited near the lower Brooks River, in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Next comes 806’s family on September 25. Their matchup could span two generations: 806 is believed to be 132’s daughter, according to Explore, though that relationship hasn’t been confirmed.

Explore’s official results show two families and two individual females advancing from the extended opening contests:

Advancing entry	Votes	Eliminated entry	Votes
132’s family	171,619	284’s family	46,449
806’s family	135,510	901’s family	74,679
909	155,899	428 Studious	51,493
910	98,126	131	84,145

132’s family received about 78.7% of the votes in its matchup. The tightest contest was 910 against 131. Just 13,981 votes separated them, with 910 taking about 53.8% of the vote.

These aren’t the tournament’s final four. Another four first-round matchups remain on the September 24 schedule.

The dates reflect a change after organizers extended the first day’s voting, following access problems on September 22. Successfully submitted votes remained valid. The results listed under September 23 therefore cover the extended contests, rather than votes cast only on that date.

Adding the eight posted tallies produces 817,920 votes across four matchups. That isn’t a count of individual participants, since a person could vote in more than one contest. Explore’s results table doesn’t give a total of distinct voters.

Two families and a matchup between sisters

The two families differ in age as well as size. All three of 132’s cubs were born this year. By contrast, 806 is raising her own spring cub alongside Biggie, a 2½-year-old she adopted.

Nobody witnessed 132’s cub becoming separated in July. Nor does the official account establish why the reunion happened several days later. Her experience at Brooks River is offered as a possibility, not a demonstrated explanation. The confirmed outcome is that all three cubs were back with their mother.

That family survived a separation; 806’s grew through an adoption. Both now occupy places in a tournament that, for the first time, includes entire families. Katmai rangers said the format recognizes mothers’ work supporting young bears while gaining their own winter reserves.

The other settled September 25 pairing is between 909 and 910. Unlike the possible relationship between 132 and 806, theirs is established: they’re sisters, both daughters of former champion 409 Beadnose. In 2023, 910 also adopted her niece while continuing to raise her own cub, according to Explore’s bear profiles.

All four advancing entries have a connection to earlier Fat Bear Junior champions. The National Park Service’s archive lists 132’s cub as the 2021 winner, 909’s yearling in 2022, 806’s cub in 2023 and 910’s adopted cub in 2024. Those historical awards shouldn’t be confused with wins for the cubs accompanying mothers in this year’s family entries.

The event began with a single day of voting, Fat Bear Tuesday, in 2014. The weeklong format arrived in 2015. Comparing bears’ seasonal growth remains central to the competition, even as the ballot expands to include their families.

That growth has a practical purpose. During hibernation, brown bears live on energy stored in their bodies rather than heading out to feed. For a mother with cubs, the preceding feeding season must support her own condition alongside the demands of raising dependent young.

September 24’s remaining first-round contests pair 694 with 620, and 610’s family with 89 Backpack. Defending champion 32 Chunk faces 164 Bucky, while 151 Walker meets 903 Gully. None of those matchups had published final totals when this article was prepared.

Polls open at noon Eastern and close at 9 p.m. After the September 25 second round, voting pauses on September 26 and 27 before the semifinals on September 28 and the championship on September 29.

On September 25, voters will send either 132’s family or 806’s family to the semifinals. There isn’t room in the bracket for both.