Polar bear grotto no 1

The "original" polar bear grotto, perhaps 350 -400 square meter big and built in the beginning of the 1950s. A couple of years back it was combined with a smaller grotto next to it that used to hold other types of bears.

January 2010

While the grotto is not up to today's standards, the bears must love it in this cold when the water is so icy! Plus they give them rather simple toys like barrels, they don't cost much but can give a polar bear so much to occupy his mind with, especially if a bit of meat or fish has been hidden inside it the night before. Zoo enrichment doesn't have to be complicated!

@Dann: I am going to ask you something and I hope that you won't take it the wrong way. I enjoy your contributions to the forum and your interest in the Danish zoos but I would ask you not to make size estimates when judging the zoo-exhibits you know from Copenhagen. You and I have different opinions on what an adequate exhibit is but you ALWAYS underestimates the sizes of the exhibits and thereby making them seem worse.

You have so far underestimated the size of the new elephant enclosure, the old indoor elephant stalls and the bear grottos. For instance, this polar bear grotto is not 350 but rather 540 square meters + the later added 100 meters giving it a total size of 640 meters. That is still not big enough for polar bears (obviously) but please let us get our facts straight.

Once again, please don't take this the wrong way and keep on posting! If you have any questions about techical details in Copenhagen Zoo I will do my best to find the answers

NO PROBLEMO, Toddy!

Although I think that I am not that bad when it comes to estimating the size of areas. My estimates tend to be fairly accurate, i would argue...