Pittsburgh Zoo - Polar Bear Exhibit

July 2008.

This is not all of the exhibit, and it is larger than it appears, but still the Pittsburgh Zoo has opened a fairly new polar bear habitat that simply has far to many fake rocks and is ultimately disappointing. Many millions of dollars were spent on mock-rock, and there is very little natural substrate in the enclosure.

And they couldn't even hide the crossviews of visitors on the other side of the exhibit. I think that seeing people on the other side of an exhibit spoils it for everybody.

A very good point Pat.


Also when the zoo has a night function on this exhibit has overhead lighting. The polar bears are then on exhibit at night. With allot of enrichment l am sure.

I dont agree with this 100%. l wonder how the polar bear feels about haveing its routine abruptly changed?

I would guess enriched... I mean that's the point of enrichment, to make an animals day interesting and not exactly the same as yesterday. I would contend that it could probably really upset an animal like a giraffe, but it seems different to me for a polar bear.

Isn't at day time for sixth months or something like that in the arctic? I don't think polar bears would mind.

Very good point Pat

Looks like a polar bear exhibit from the times, zoodirectors thought, all bears come from the high mountains.....Hard to belive, it was build just a few years ago...

For the new enclosure at Hamburg the director went to see wild polarbears in their habitat and they were climbing a lot, so some more climbingstruktures were added to the plans for the new exhibit.

I believe I've mentioned it somewhere here, but I feel this exhibit is a modern version of the old bear grottoes. All sloped with different levels of rocks for bears to climb. However, I do like their underwater tunnel.