Year First Observed: 2009
Year Last Observed: 2026
Age: 21

Bear 132 is one of the largest and most experienced mothers at Brooks River. She has used the river every summer since 2009, and in 2026 she brought her fourth known litter, three spring cubs, all the way to the Fat Bear Week semifinals in her first appearance in the main bracket.

How to recognize her

132 is a big female with grizzled dark brown fur, ears that lean forward, and a broad belly. The quickest way to spot her is the fur on her forehead, which forms an upside down V, almost like a chevron.

A seasoned mother

Rangers first identified 132 in 2009 when she was about four and a half years old, which means she was born around 2005. Her own family history is not known.

She has spent much of her adult life raising cubs. In 2014 she was seen at Brooks River with a litter of three spring cubs. In 2021 she came back with another litter of three, and two of those cubs survived the summer. That year she mostly stayed away from Brooks Falls and its crowd of big bears, fishing farther downstream instead, and the family sometimes wandered near Brooks Lodge. One of those 2021 cubs won the very first Fat Bear Junior contest.

She is also believed to be the mother of bear 806, who competed alongside her in the 2026 bracket.

The lost cub

In mid July 2026, one of 132's three spring cubs went missing. Nobody saw how they got separated. For several days the little cub wandered the river corridor alone, sometimes walking up to other bear families, only to be ignored or chased off. Every day it stayed on its own, its chances got worse.

132 kept caring for her other two cubs while that was going on. After several days apart, she and the missing cub found each other again near the lower river. Nobody can say exactly how they found each other. But 132 has spent close to two decades learning every corner of this river, and that kind of knowledge gives a mother a real edge when something goes wrong. The reunion was captured by viewers on the explore.org cams and became one of the big stories of the summer.

Some fans gave her the nickname Spaghetti that year, since she came with three meatballs.

Fat Bear Week

• 2026: First Fat Bear Week, semifinalist, lost to 910

• 2021: Her spring cub won the first Fat Bear Junior

Quick facts

• Sex: Female

• First identified: 2009, about age 4.5

• Known litters: 4, most recently three spring cubs in 2026

• Offspring: 806 (believed)

• Known for: The chevron on her forehead, her 2026 reunion with a lost cub