Another substandard polar bear exhibit closed down. As with elephants it's been interesting to see which zoos shell out millions to build state-of-the-art habitats for the Arctic bears to keep up with rising standards and levels of naturalism and which ones opt for phasing out. As Cleveland,Tulsa, Reid Park, Central Park, Roger Williams Park and now Indianapolis have given up, zoos like Columbus, Saint Louis, Hogle, Kansas City, Henry Vilas, Brookfield, Louisville and Buffalo have spent the money.
Even if the exhibit is sub-par, it surprises me somewhat that Indy is phasing them out since marine mammals are one of their specialties. I wonder what will become of that exhibit. Maybe in the future they will redevelop it into a better polar bear enclosure. Now if only they would do the same for that awful brown bear grotto...
Maybe they could have spent the money they wasted on the red ape monstrosity to make a decent polar bear exhibit. Also that grizzly bear grotto is surprisingly appalling for a zoo entirely built since 1988
