At first thought, a polar bear in sunny San Diego seems curiously out of place. But with the San Diego Zoo's Polar Bear Plunge, you'll discover that polar bears are right at home, where every day is an Arctic summer day.
This exhibit brings the Arctic tundra south to San Diego, with Siberian reindeer, northern birds, and native plants, along with polar bears. The focal point of the exhibit is, naturally, the Plunge. From the underwater viewing room you can see how agile and playful the polar bears really are. In fact, they're known to swim right up to the glass to check out all the humans on display.
Outdoor viewing follows the water level up to the beach area, where a herd of reindeer can also be viewed in the background. A large moat separates the polar bears from the reindeer, but from the visitor's viewpoint, the whole exhibit looks like one enclosure. A large sandbox and open spaces on the banks of the Plunge also allow the bears to dig around or maybe take a nap—just like they would in the wild.
Polar Bear Plunge is one of the largest polar bear exhibits in the world. It's wet and it's wild—polar bear style!
