Each autumn in Alaska, after the salmon runs have thinned and the bears have done their ancient work of eating and growing, a peculiar human ritual takes shape around them. Fat Bear Week 2026 has arrived with its largest bracket yet, inviting the public to witness — and vote upon — the magnificent results of a summer's abundance. It is, at once, a celebration of wildness, a measure of ecological health, and a reminder that nature's rhythms still hold the power to capture human attention.