Fat Bear Day 1 still open through 5 p.m. Alaska; no winners yet
Updated 5:20 p.m. ET — Extended Fat Bear Week Day 1 voting continues through 5 p.m. Alaska time (~9 p.m. ET) after Explore.org’s record crush. Official Results tables still show blank scores for Sept. 22/23 matchups—no first-round winners published.
Updated 5:20 p.m. ET Sept. 23: Katmai National Park and Preserve’s makeup Day 1 for the 12th annual Fat Bear Week remained open Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Alaska time after Explore.org servers buckled under record opening-day traffic—meaning the East Coast evening refresh still falls before polls close (~9 p.m. ET).
“THE BEARS HAVE BROKEN THE INTERNET. Literally,” the park posted, while Explore.org confirmed its biggest Day 1 turnout ever and said votes already cast still count. The bracket still tees defending champion Bear 32 “Chunk” against Bear 164 in an early clash; last year’s contest drew more than 1.7 million votes from over 100 countries. As of evening ET, fatbearweek.org / Explore.org Results tables listed Sept. 22–23 matchups without published winners.
Fat Bear Week (Sept. 22–29) celebrates Brooks River brown bears packing on salmon weight before hibernation, a partnership among the National Park Service, Explore.org, and the Katmai Conservancy. Alaska’s News Source and Explore.org agree on the Alaska-time extension and server cause; lighter coverage sometimes confuses the 5 p.m. AKDT close with Eastern time. NewsHabit will report first-round winners once multi-outlet or official results post after polls close.
Where outlets agree Park and Explore.org agree Day 1 voting extends through 5 p.m. Alaska time after record traffic; evening ET checks show no published first-round winners yet.
Where they differ None material on facts; fan debates focus on bracket fairness of an early Chunk matchup.