Worst Polar Bear Exhibits in the US

I know many have stated it already but I just want to solidify this once and for all, it's Milwaukee hands down. That has to be one of the saddest most brutal carnivore exhibits left in any major zoo. Whenever I go to the zoo I specifically stay clear of that area because I always feel horribly guilty watching the elderly female pace by the edge of the moat, which she does almost every time I have seen her. I'm honestly surprised she is still alive as while I'm sure she gets fine care from her keepers, this exhibit is horrid all around - no other zoo even comes close.

Milwaukee's master plan calls for a new polar bear exhibit on the sight of the existing one and the nearby seal pool, but it still will be far too small and imo it's in Milwaukees best interest to get out of polar bears all together. The proposed exhibit will still be way too small and with the population being stretched so thin between American zoos, I don't see a good reason why Milwaukee should still have them. There much better off devoting funds to other parts of the zoo that need fixing (and believe me, there is a lot). Like @birdsandbats said I'm doubtful Milwaukee will still have polar bears in a few years, as the current female is extremely old and I doubt any zoo including Milwaukee would want to put another animal in this mock rock mess.

I mean just look at this thing.

 

Are those gulls in the photo real or fake?
Also, I don't necessarily think this Exhibit would be too small if they expanded it slightly- the issues with this Exhibit have much more to do with the mock rock work than the size. Use of space is always much more important than how much space there is (within reason- I'm not advocating for keeping a polar bear in an 8'x8' square no matter how well the space was used).

 

The gulls are real.

 

Even if Milwaukee wanted more Polar Bears how would they obtain them?

 

Then those are some brave gulls. I always give a lot of credit to small animals that wander into the habitats of larger, carnivorous ones. Especially since I've seen a kookaburra eat a sparrow that entered its cage.

 

I once saw a Tiger eat a Rock Pigeon at DeYoung Family Zoo. The pigeon never landed, it flew several feet above the Tiger, but the cat managed to jump up and catch it in the air. I also saw wolves eat a turkey at Minnesota Zoo.

 

Well there’s also the very smart Killer Whale who lured in a heron with its own throw up. The bird went in to eat some and the whale grabbed it and ate it.

 

The Turkey is an interesting one. The only ones I've seen is the aforementioned kookaburra eating a sparrow, and an otter eating a dragonfly. I saw a Lion try to eat a chipmunk as well, but the chipmunk got away. I'm assuming those are wild gulls at Milwaukee? I doubt any zoos are stupid enough to mix polar bears with birds.

 

I saw a maned wolf catch a chipmunk, then carry it around and play with it, letting it go and catching it over and over before finally chomping. If the chipmunk had gone down the other side of the tree, it would have been with the gazelles instead.

 

Yes, the gulls are wild.

 

New to the group but I am not a fan of Maryland Zoo's polar bear exhibit. This is not the fault of keepers or anything. It's shared with brown bears (they are housed separately but share space) and to me it's profoundly too small. It looks like it even got some attention this year for it: Polar Bear Behavior | The Maryland Zoo

The pools are also way too small. I think if they chose one bear species (prefer brown bears because it's a horrible climate for polar bears) and managed the space better it would be a better exhibit.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "got some attention this year for it"?

Polar bears don't actually need a large pool space. They aren't big recreational swimmers, they swim mostly for food and to relax. Their old exhibit at MD was mostly water and it was awful. The left exhibit at the zoo does seem a bit small, because of the angles, but it's decent. They also rotate with the brown bears, so get plenty of access to the larger exhibit on the right, as well.

The zoo is very dedicated to polar bears.

 

Oh I don't doubt their dedication - I just think that what they have is too small. And I understand what you're saying about not being recreational swimmers but typically every time I visit they are doing stereotypical behaviors in the pool. But since that presser, they seem to be doing more public enrichment.

Personally I'd like to see polar bears either phased out or standards increase to the point where Arctic Ring of Life isn't an anomaly, but the norm for polar bears

 

I think if Maryland expanded ‘Polar Bear Watch’ into the empty ‘Main Valley’ adjacent to it, the exhibit could be fantastic. There couldn’t be less than two acres of unused land over there that could be utilized. Funds however, along with polar bears having the newest exhibit, could mean updates don’t happen for a while though…

 

I still cannot believe that the main "update" was some dens on exhibit. Again my criticism is not geared towards keeps at all or anything like that, but to me it looks like a lack of investment by the zoo and I hope it's a priority going forward. I think they could do a great update - I'm not as familiar as the layout of the MZ as the National Zoo

 

I completely agree, the dens added were hardly an update. The keepers are a fantastic team, and I don’t fault them at all. I think the polar bears are just last on the list of renovations and repairs for the zoo. Luckily however, almost every other exhibit has gotten a facelift over the past few years so the bears could be next, and likely will be if they plan on maintaining the species as the current females are likely to be paired for breeding this coming season.

 

They aren’t recreational swimmers but having a good sized pool is still important. I think I do have to agree a larger pool would be good fro the polar bears. Even Sea World San Diego had a larger pool than that. And especially in the Maryland heat a big enough pool is definitely important.

 

It definitely won't expand like that. In addition to having utility issues, there's a lot of terrain issues, and parts of the main valley are registered historic buildings that have to be maintained.

I agree that their main exhibit is smaller than most, but they get to rotate, something other zoos don't do.

 

Did everyone hear that Polar Bears are leaving Maryland

 

Shocking, to say the least. Probably good for the bears, but I’m flabbergasted that they’re giving up the species. Even if they do return in the distant future.