Thank you for the information, Alan. The photo I have of the polar bear enclosure at Chessington in the late 1980s is quite different to this one. I presume they created a new enclosure at some point?
Thank you for the information, Alan. The photo I have of the polar bear enclosure at Chessington in the late 1980s is quite different to this one. I presume they created a new enclosure at some point?
I don't know: I went to Chessington in 1972 and I haven't been back since. The photos that you have posted of the '80s pool look very different, but I don't know if it was a new pool or a revamp of the previous version.
This enclosure originally ( c.1960s ) had a wrought iron barred frontage with curved spikes along that back wall. These were later removed by the time the photo was taken, the wall all the way round , but specifically at the front was indeed thought to be far too low , the male bear used to jump from the pool up the front wall to see how far he could get!! The enclosure was extended and redeveloped at least twice , viewing windows replaced the iron-work , later on those windows were extended along the left hand side to increase public viewing areas. After the last bears left in 1991 the whole thing was filled in and became an ornamental pond with a walk over bridge. The underview still remained but locked up. Then the underview area became the "Creepy Caves" reptile facility whilst the top was completely concreted over as a viewing / seating area. Z
