Bootheel Gourds

10/01/2026

10/01/2026

We have a new fat Bear Champ! Bear 89 nicknamed "Backpack"

As Fat Bear Week comes to a close, we’re celebrating more than crowned champions and epic bear glow‑ups, we’re celebrating all of you!

Your votes, your posts, your favorite bear campaigns, and your shared love for Katmai’s wild places turned this week into a collective story shaped by thousands of voices. It’s a reminder that just like America’s 250th anniversary, traditions endure because people keep them alive.

This year, we honored resilience in our bears and in our nation, recognizing the landscapes, communities, and shared stories that connect us. Thanks for being part of the journey. Until next year, enjoy the bears, salmon, and human connection that keeps Katmai's ecosystems alive.

Photo and graphics courtesy of Explore.org and Sara Wolman

09/30/2026

09/30/2026

We have a winner! A brown bear named Backpack has emerged victorious as Fat Bear Week champion, the heftiest bear of Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve.

The nonprofit running the longstanding contest announced that the bear, known for his pacifist nature, was the winner Tuesday with more than 100,000 votes.

Read more: https://abcnews.visitlink.me/Z1dm-Y

06/30/2026

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova invoked her experience defecting from communist Czechoslovakia in 1975 while criticizing President Donald Trump’s administration. Navratilova said her upbringing under communism taught her what life in a totalitarian regime feels like, warning against what she sees as growing threats to free speech and open dissent in America.

📷: Getty