Polar Bears in Cleveland Zoo

When the temperature is below freezing, Cleveland Zoo has a "Polar Bear Day," which means that the admission price is cut in half.


A lot of snow at the Zoo but the winter loving animals are more than happy (left), Beautiful swans - these are Zoo Lights figures during daylight (middle); A giraffe from Zoo Lights (right).

Let's go to the Northern trek part of the Zoo where the action is during the winter season. It is a land of bears, wolves, and reindeer.


Mountain climbing -- bear style (left). A polar bear closeup (middle left). "What is going on there ?" (middle right). A polar bear stretching muscles (right),


"What is that smell? Mmm...you guys smell delicious...yummy..."


A Zoo Lights bear (left). Polar bear info plate (right).


Polar Bear at Cleveland Zoo


The bear is yawning... What is he thinking: "To have a nap or not to have a nap? This is the question... To have a nap is always a good decision. There is not much to do around here anyway. It is the Zoo, remember... I just sit here all day and watch you guys passing by. Great job with full benefits. Seals are nearby, too bad we are not allowed to catch them..."

There are 64 polar bears in captivity in American zoos, far short of the 200 considered optimal for maintaining the population over 100 years. Source: Zoos’ Bitter Choice - To Save Some Species, Letting Others Die - NYTimes.com http://goo.gl/UiiLj -- Zoos Have to Decide Which Species to Keep - Graphic http://goo.gl/bfTlh


A happy seal.


A deer thinking...(an oxymoron?) (left). A lake with ducks (right).


Just a dog with a silly snow cap (left). The two dog sculptures turned out to be the famous sled dogs Togo and Balto, that helped the small Alaskan town of Noma by bringing diphtheria serum to save the sick children in 1925. Balto lived (and died) at the old Cleveland Zoo and his mount is shown in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (right).

References:

The adventures of Balto - Balto-iditarod.com.
Polar Bear. The Cats Jungle's photos on Flickr.
Bears at Northern Trek, Cleveland Zoo.

Related reading:

Bear, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Video: Dancing Grizzly Cannot Resists a Back Rub
Polar bears turn green after dip in zoo pond. CNN, 09/2008.
Polar Bear Dies at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, 10/2008.
Come on in, the water's freezing! Images of polar bears diving into icy pool. Daily Mail, 2011.