Fat Bear Week 2024: A Playlist for Katmai National Park’s Yearly Bracket-Style Contest

It’s the start of Fat Bear Week, Katmai National Park’s annual bracket-style contest judging how fat their bears get before hibernation. It’s a cherished tradition among nature lovers and National Park visitors, and we’ve got a playlist to fuel the week-long predictions and voting. It all leads up to the crowning of the fattest bear in Katmai.

If you don’t know what we’re talking about, just settle in with our playlist and Google away. We promise you’ll become a Fat Bear Week fan at the end. It’s March Madness but for fat bears, what’s better than that?

Fat Bear Week 2024 Playlist: Jimmy Buffett, Violent Femmes, and More

“Fat Bottomed Girls” — Queen

Starting out strong with a classing Queen song, this track perfectly encapsulates the love for Fat Bear Week. “Fat bottomed girls / You make the rocking world go round,” more like “Fat bottomed bears.” This song’s admiration for bigger women can translate directly into Katmai’s admiration for their fat bears.

“Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” — The Smiths

Again, here’s a song that paints a clear picture of Fat Bear Week. “Some girls are bigger than others”—true, because there will only be one winner at the end of the week. Some bears are bigger than others, but only the biggest bear will win.

“God’s Own Drunk” — Jimmy Buffett

This is a fun narrative song originally by Lord Buckley and covered by Jimmy Buffett, who added his mellow yet clever vocal styling. “God’s Own Drunk” is about a man coming face to face with a bear on a mountain and getting it drunk on “yella whiskey.” The story is interesting already, but it’s Buffett’s recognizable vocals that make it truly whimsical.

“Grizzly Bear Blues” — Corb Lund

A raucous song, “Grizzly Bear Blues” is part toe-tapping tune and part bear education lesson. The lyrics are funny and clever, and Corb Lund’s vocals are unique. He ambles through the song easily, creating smart rhymes while also teaching listeners about bear safety in a roundabout way.

“I Wanna Be A Bear” — Descendents

Exactly what it says on the tin, “I Wanna Be A Bear” is a short and sweet song essentially about dating woes. Maybe don’t look too closely at the lyrics, but if you’re into fast-paced, harsh and shreddy songs, Descendents are for you.

“Feminine Fatt” — Leaders of the New School

This song is a celebration of everything Fat Bear Week is about—being fat. If you’re a fat bear reading this right now, know that we love and respect your journey. May the fattest bear win.

“Brick House” — Commodores

Have you ever looked at a bear and thought, “She’s a brick house”? Well, prepare yourself to do exactly that. This song is perfect for all the contestants of Fat Bear Week, celebrating their voluptuousness as they prepare for hibernation.

“They Call Me Big Mama” — Big Mama Thornton

Here’s an ode to all the big mama bears out there. Last year bear 128 Grazer won the contest—a dominant female, she went from slim and trim in the summer to an absolute unit in the fall. She’s raised two litters of cubs during her time at Katmai, but she embraced single-girl summer last year and packed on all the nourishing pounds for hibernation.

“Fat” — Violent Femmes

“A little extra weight would never look no nicer on nobody else but you” is the spirit of Fat Bear Week. So is “I hope you got really fat,” which is another lyric from this song. All we can hope for during the week is that all the bears get fat in preparation for the winter, but putting on a bracket just makes it more fun.

Featured Image by Jonathan Newton/Getty Images