I may have asked this before, but any plans of bringing back Polar Bears to LA and add them to this area? Los Angeles must be able to if San Diego can keep this species. And in Tuscon, Arizona, they keep two bears which don't seem to have any problems with the heat.
In the master plan presented during the 1990s, this area was designated a future site for Sea Otters. Of course, there was something like $12,000,000 that needed to be raised for renovations, including underwater viewing. Originally opened during the late 1980s for Sea Lions, as pointed out by mstickmanp, I've often wondered why plans didn't include underwater viewing initially.