HOBBS STATE PARK EVENTS

Polar Bears vs. Climate Change

According to “Science” magazine, polar bears burn up to 12,300 calories per day, mainly on a diet of seals. How do they “hunt” those seals? The bears wait for hours by seals’ cone-shaped breathing holes in the sea ice. When a seal surfaces to breathe, the bear stands on its hind legs and smacks the seal on the head with both of its front paws to stun it. Then the bear bites it on the neck and drags it onto the ice. They’re far more successful doing this than any other method of hunting. The key is ice. The bears need the ice to be able to hunt, to eat, to live. Climate change is heating up the Arctic faster than anywhere else on earth. National Geographic says sea ice is shrinking 14 percent per decade. Everyone agrees that the Arctic ice is melting rapidly. People may disagree about the causes.

Denis Dean, 15-year Arkansas and Florida master naturalist, will speak on the plight of these majestic carnivores. According to Dean, “This program is about the effect the melting ice is having on polar bears and the loss of their habitat, which may cause the entire population to revert back to where they originated — as brown bears. Scientific evidence has found that the brown bear, a species that also includes grizzly bears, was a precursor to polar bears, which then went on to develop specializations for inhabiting the harsh Arctic.”

This program is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at the park visitor center and there is no cost to attend.

Misunderstood Ozark 'Glades'

At its most simple definition, “glade” means an open space in a forest. In the Ozarks, it is just a little more complicated. When traveling into the Ozarks from the north, you do not drive up into the mountains, but rather slowly down into an increasingly hilly, eroded, landscape. As this erosion took place, some hillsides were washed clear of any soil, especially on south and westward facing slopes. Ozark glades formed. These slopes absorb hot afternoon sunlight, and now only certain animals and plants can live here.

Wildflower specialist and master naturalist, Joan Reynolds, will address the unique plant and animal communities that are specific to our Ozark glades. Reynolds will also explain what has taken place at the large glade restoration on Hobbs State Park. Many master naturalists and members of the Friends of Hobbs worked together with park staff to remove hundreds of eastern red cedar trees to allow plants and animals native to Ozark glades to once again return and flourish.

This program is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23, at the park visitor center and there is no cost to attend.

Park Visitor Center location, contacts

The Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area Visitor Center contact phone number is 479-789-5000. The center is located on Arkansas Highway 12 just east of the War Eagle Road intersection. To learn more about upcoming Friends of Hobbs speakers and other park programs, visit www.friends ofhobbs.com and www.Arkansas StateParks.com/hobbsstatepark conservationarea.