Great photo of a great exhibit, plenty of grass, the cliff border really makes this look like your in a forest in the northern U.S. or even in Canada. Great habitat for the grizzlies.
The bear grottoes at Detroit Zoo were unveiled to the public when the zoo opened in 1928. Other than the addition of birthing dens (in the early 1930's) and the planting of natural substrate for the most part these enclosures have hardly changed in almost 85 years.
I beg to differ; the Detroit grottoes are incredibly spacious, field good substrate and have plenty of vegetation. While I agree there are plenty of other bear grottoes across the country that should be abolished, the zoo historian in me appreciates this well-crafted Hagenbeck design! If there was a "historic register" of American zoo architecture, this might be one of the first candidates I'd nominate...
This the largest "grotto" they have at the zoo and according to the zoo's historical timeline near the train station at one time they held 16 polar bears(they had a picture that featured at least 8) in this exhibit which would explain why it is so big.
Once there was an Andean Bear in the single grotto behind the row of three that this one is in. It was only there a short time and was little known before it died. I belive it was in 2009
