We Need Ice to Survive, Hudson Bay Canada
Last November we made a trip to the Hudson Bay to spend a week at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre to see and learn about polar bears. The ice was forming the week we were there. With two days out on the tundra buggy, a helicopter overflight to see them on the ice, and daily lectures by leading researchers, we learned much about the bears and how threatened they are by climate change. Their only food source is seals, and they need ice to hunt them. The season of viable ice is diminishing each year. They do not hibernate during the summer, so they need to survive for long periods of time without eating. This is especially critical for pregnant females who go into their dens in the fall before the ice forms and donât emerge with their cubs until spring. How long they have ice after they emerge is critical. Available at Middle Street Gallery through April 21.