The Buffalo Zoo broke ground today on its new polar bear exhibit. The new exhibit, Arctic Edge, will house the zoo’s polar bear cubs Luna and Kali. In separate enclosures it will also house arctic wolf, bald eagle, and Canadian lynx.
The 1.5 acres exhibit will reproduce the frozen landscape of the Arctic Circle. It will also include an underwater viewing section, so patrons can watch the polar bears swimming.
The new exhibit will cost $14 million, Governor Andrew Cuomo contributed $750,000 from the Governor’s NY Works program.
Polar bears are among the most popular animals at the Buffalo Zoo and have been for more than a century. Adult polar bears at the buffalo zoo have had to be relocated to zoos out of state because the existing exhibit is not up to husbandry standards. The current polar bear exhibit was built in the 1890s; only small changes have been made over the past 120 years.
