Can someone please verify whether the species of ARCTIC species in Polar Bear Plunge at the Sd Zoo are: Polar bears Caribou Arctic Diving Ducks Did the zoo use to exhibit arctic foxes in the exhibit which now houses the pallas cats? I wonder why they chose not to exhibit the foxes, especially since Sd Seaworld has foxes in an exhibit not open to the public unless on a behind the scenes tour.
The original inhabitants of those two cages over by the reindeer viewing were arctic foxes (on the right) and I believe snowy owls (on the left). The arctic fox was replaced by Pallas' cat and now that exhibit has an Arabian wild cat (if you ask me the Amur leopard cat would have been a better geographical fit). The snowy owl was replaced by a Siberian yellow-throated marten, then by a caracal, then by red pandas, and now a caracal again. As far as the bird species in the marsh and aviary, I couldn't tell you what's there now, but last time it was all either arctic or subarctic ranging species.
Bird Species in the Aviary (As of Summer 2007) ~ Redhead Wood Duck Ring Necked Duck Canvasback Ruddy Duck Red Breasted Goose Ross's Goose Smew Harlequin Duck Red Breasted Merganser Bufflehead Long Tailed Duck Its possible some species may have been added or removed.
The Hoopoe might have been in a different exhibit but it isnt on my list. Im fairly sure there werent any great tit.
Officially the cervids in Polar Bear Plunge are Siberian reindeer, rather than caribou (same species, different continent). At various points in time, other bird species in the exhibit included hoopoe (no longer in the collection, I believe), common and king eiders, and demoiselle cranes.
When I was there in October 2008, there were polar bear, caribou, arabiann wild cat and turkenstein caracal lynx ( The latter two pissed me off soooooo much! I can't believe they have the nerve to put African cats in an Arctic Exhibit!!!!!!)
not to be too picky, but both cat subspecies are actually Asian (Turkmenistan and Arabia are both in Asia)
The January 2010 issue of ZOONOOZ has two articles about Polar Bear Plunge. The first is titled 'Cool Changes At Polar Bear Plunge' and features three renderings of new interpretive elements for visitors. The exhibit complex will be closed January 4 to March 26 2010 to install these elements which include a small plaza with 2 full-size statues of polar bears and a refrigerator containing a typical zoo polar bear meal and a scale to weigh visitors in relation to polar bear weight; an icy structure with ice shelves and caves/birthing dens and a seal hole and statue; and a typical research helicopter used for field work in polar bear tracking. Other changes are not detailed but are mentioned as new elements within the exhibit. Also mentioned is the expansion of the polar bear holding area including a birthing den and a separate off-view yard with a pool for new mothers with cubs (which has been in construction since October I believe). The second is titled 'Duck, Duck, Goose! In The Arctic Aviary' and discusses some of the species in the exhibit. It mentions the following: bufflehead ducks ruffs harlequin ducks long-tailed ducks red-breasted geese smew
As a cat lover, I would never complain too loudly about seeing any types of cats anywhere. But clearly arabian wildcat and turkmenistan caracal are so far out of place in Polar Bear Plunge that it is an absurdity. (Although the couple times I've seen them they were in the opposite cages as what Ituri mentions). The cage on the left, which has the arabian wildcat and before that had marten, is also an old-style thick metal cage (even though the inside is natural). For a relatively new exhibit area at the world-class San Diego Zoo, it is very out of place - a real eyesore in the rest of the exhibit. They would be better off removing it completely. Even though I am not a huge bird fan, the diving duck aviary is probably the best part of this entire area (at least when the polar bears are sleeping).
I was looking at the current Zoonooz article about the changes to Polar Bear Plunge and I've been trying to figure out where things would go. I would not be surprised to see these two exhibits removed as part of the renovation, but this is purely a guess on my part.
Here is a website detailing the changes to Polar Bear Plunge, I think I was wrong about the small mammal exhibits being gone. Polar Bear Plunge
Thanks for posting the link Ituri, and there are some interesting aspects to the redevelopment of Polar Bear Plunge. I'd like to see much more substrate added to the enclosure (or even an expansion other than the cubbing den), but all of the visitor amenities should be a hit with the huge crowds.
Looks like they're adding a lot more educational value to the exhibit, especially dealing with global warming and its effect on the bears. So that's a big plus imo.
