Brown bears can be terrifying meat eaters, tearing into salmon, elk, and other prey. But an extinct subspecies from Africa was a strict vegetarian, researchers report in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. In fact, the diet of this “Atlas bear” was remarkably similar to the elk its modern relatives hunt. The animal’s unusual eating habits, researchers say, may have helped it avoid competition with hypercarnivores such as lions and leopards.