Hyperphagia – according to the dictionary is “an abnormal increase in appetite for consumption of food”. In people this could be quite a danger to life, but in bears this is a ‘natural’ occurring condition that ends up saving their life. Around September here on the BC coast, hyperphagia starts to kick in for our grizzly bears and they start to eat, and eat, and eat. They eat until they just can’t fit another morsel in – so then they’ll take a nap, get up and eat some more. By this time in the cycle, the freshness of the protein doesn’t quite matter so much and they intuitively know that even a rotting old salmon carcass still has a few calories left in it. The urge will keep them going like this until they’ve piled on the pounds and the temperatures start to drop – indicating it’s time to head off for hibernation. During their deep winter sleep, all those pounds they’ve piled on is what keeps them alive, as their bodies feed off the excess fat.
