Best bear exhibits in the US

TheEthiopianWolf03 said:
Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)


Best exhibit: Roger William park zoo's Marco Polo's Adventure Trek


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Picture by @BeardsleyZooFan


Choosing the best exhibit for this species was hard, mostly because the AZA is trying to phase out this species. There weren't many options for this species and most of my research on these exhibits was on if a zoo still had them! This New England zoo gives these bears a nice forested area with glass viewing for the visitors. The fact that there are two of these bears gave this exhibit an extra check as people can see both bears interact with each other. Plus an underwater viewing, you got a pretty nice exhibit. What gave this exhibit the edge over the honorable mention is the theme for the entire zone this exhibit is in, Marco Polo. This makes for a unique point of view of asian species as you follow the trail of this famous explorer. This exhibit may be the weakest out of the rest but it still a nice stop as you travel through time to explore with one of the greatest trekkers of his time.


Honorable mention: Trail of the tiger at Virginia zoo
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How many US zoo still hold this species?
 
Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)


Best exhibit: Oakland zoo's sun bear exhibit


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Picture by @geomorph

This species is next in line after the Asiatic black bear so finding the best exhibit came down to a few factors. The honorable mentions would have got this in the bag if it had what Oakland had, size. Now before you call "bias" let me explain The exhibit is the largest sun bear exhibit I have seen and possibly the largest exhibit in the whole country. Although the theming is not very exciting, the size of the exhibit gives the bears plenty of room to run around and show of their natural behavior (which they tend to do a lot). There are multiple climbing areas and a small pool. The area is also full of plants and bamboo. Overall the exhibit is very nice for the species and with its large size, creates a wonderful forever home for this vanishing species.

Honorable mentions: Asian quest at Columbus zoo, Sun bear forest at San Diego zoo
 
TheEthiopianWolf03 said:
Honorable mentions: Polar bear plunge at San Diego zoo, Polar bear point at Saint Louis zoo, Rocky shores at North Carolina zoo.
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I have no quibble with your top choice, but there's no way that either St. Louis or San Diego has a better polar bear exhibit than Columbus. St. Louis's, in particular, is quite small and dominated by mock rock, with a very small pool. I was frankly disappointed by the exhibit, which I feel is not up to St. Louis's (admittedly high) standards.
 
jibster said:
I have no quibble with your top choice, but there's no way that either St. Louis or San Diego has a better polar bear exhibit than Columbus. St. Louis's, in particular, is quite small and dominated by mock rock, with a very small pool. I was frankly disappointed by the exhibit, which I feel is not up to St. Louis's (admittedly high) standards.
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As I mentioned before, I looked into Colombus and it outshines both. I’ll mention the exhibit on the final post when I have time. The post is for good exhibits that I forgot or didn’t mention.
 
I just saw this thread and was wondering if there is any chance of it getting updated. It also is probably unlikely because it would be a lot of the same top exhibits.
 
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