Polar bears in the wild, in Churchill, Manitoba. Photo by Jean Dewart

By BILL PRIEDHORSKY
Los Alamos Mountaineers

The March Los Alamos Mountaineers meeting has been moved to an electronic format, consistent with the needs of this special time.

It will be held at the regular time of 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. As usual, the Mountaineers meeting is held in collaboration with the Pajarito Environmental Education Center.

This month, Jean Dewart will share her visit with polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba’s.

Churchill is called the Polar Bear Capitol of the World. It is the location in Hudson’s Bay that typically freezes earliest in the year (November). Polar bears congregate in the Churchill area in the fall, waiting for the ice to form, so that they can go out on the ice to hunt seals. 

Churchill is a “regular” town – in that it is a grain port city, with air and train service – making it one of the more accessible locations for seeing polar bears.

Dewart went on a tour in early November 2019 to see the bears and took 2,500 photos in four days! (She will share her best 100.)

The Mountaineers’ monthly meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month, usually in the planetarium at the Los Alamos Nature Center, but electronically for the duration.

As always, the public is welcome.

The Zoom link for this event is https://us04web.zoom.us/j/855651983. Participants should first download the Zoom Application to their computer or phone before clicking the link.