Good day. I’ll have the salmon, please. With a side of salmon. Then, for dessert, perhaps the salmon. Actually, forget the dessert. More salmon. And a small grass salad and a water, because even a bear has to make healthy choices. In late summer and fall, Alaska’s coastal brown bears enter a state called hyperphagia, which is a scientific way of saying, “I must now eat everything I can find before winter arrives and turns the world into a giant freezer.” During this all-you-can-eat season, a large male bear can consume 80 to 90 pounds of food a day. To handle all this eating, bears take midday naps to process their meals. A relatable strategy: eat an unreasonable amount, then lie down and think about your choices. At the peak of the salmon run, a dominant bear can eat more than 30 salmon in a single day. So, is salmon always on a bear’s mind? Yes. Probably. The bear has priorities. The salad is mostly there to make the meal feel responsible. Much like the water. It’s a nice idea, bu...