It is called Lords of the Arctic but that fancy name does not deflect from the fact that the polar bear exhibit at Cincinnati Zoo is basically two old grottoes combined. The bear pits there are horrendously outdated, and I can remember black bears and spectacled bears in similar grottoes on my 2008 visit.
It is called Lords of the Arctic but that fancy name does not deflect from the fact that the polar bear exhibit at Cincinnati Zoo is basically two old grottoes combined. The bear pits there are horrendously outdated, and I can remember black bears and spectacled bears in similar grottoes on my 2008 visit.
i think the Polar bear exhibits are great, they seem happy, and the exhibits not that old at all especially the second exhibit which was added on later on.
The Polar Bear enclosure is certainly not the best or newest (the bear grottos themselves date back to the Hagenbeck times of the 30s), and is not as nice (though there is more shade) as Columbus' or Detroit's with their large size and wide open areas of natural substrate. However, it's by far not the worst. The Polar Bear enclosure opened when the two grottos were renovated, connected, and when an underwater viewing area was added in the early 2000s. By no means do I think that it was meant to be a final fix. The renovation likely just bought the zoo some time. I would say that they (hopefully) are just waiting for their older American Black Bears and Spectacled Bears to die off and for some more funds before continuing the renovation of "Bear Line" as it was once called.
i think the Polar bear exhibits are great, they seem happy, and the exhibits not that old at all especially the second exhibit which was added on later on.
All of the grottoes were built under the supervision of the Hagenbecks and opened in the late 1930s. Linking two together about 10 years ago was a fine improvement on these historical exhibits. What is lost in this discussion is that these bear exhibits were carefully sited at the time into a North facing (more or less) hill where they would always remain cool. Many of today's larger bear exhibits get pretty hot for the bears.
All of the grottoes were built under the supervision of the Hagenbecks and opened in the late 1930s. Linking two together about 10 years ago was a fine improvement on these historical exhibits. What is lost in this discussion is that these bear exhibits were carefully sited at the time into a North facing (more or less) hill where they would always remain cool. Many of today's larger bear exhibits get pretty hot for the bears.
I am indeed an exhibit designer. Independent. I was on the staff at Cincinnati (where I learned a great deal and had the benefit of terrific and generous mentors!) earlier in my career.
But to respond to the rest of your initial post...
Don't you play as an important part at the zoo? If you are, then can you do anything about the bear exhibits?
The development of a zoo's exhibits and what goes where is sometimes determined almost solely by the Director, other times by the Director and General Curator, other times by a more complicated group. To turn three exhibits housing three species into one exhibit housing one of those species presents some obvious issues that would need to be considered. It may seem a no brainer, but it is not a simple decision.
i agree this enclosure needs upgrading, but it is definatly not the worst grotto around. i hope i live to see the day that all bear grotto's + pits are eliminated from western zoo's.
Well, here we are again with the next "bear grotto". I don't really want to make this a continuation from the buffalo bear pit(it does look better!), but I do find it interesting that the defense of this kind of exhibit quite often is, that is not THE worst. That is a pretty weak defense in my mind. There are obviously many stages between "really good" and "really bad" but that can and should not be an excuse for the many bad pits and grottoes that are just a bit above the really terrible. Too often it is this type of exhibit that gives munition to the animal rights people because of all the mental and physical health problems it causes. I certainly hope that these bears are indeed "happy" and show no stereotypical behaviors (although that is not the only problem that these pits and grottoes cause), it just seems rather unlikely given the experiences with the vast majority of other polar bears in similar situations.
