Pittsburgh – Starting next summer, the Pittsburgh Zoo will be the new home for two young polar bear brothers who have been the stars of the Denver Zoo since they were born last Thanksgiving.
The bears, Koda and Nuka, will be the first residents of the Pittsburgh Zoo’s new Water’s Edge polar bear exhibit, the Highland Park zoo announced Thursday.
The $12.5 million exhibit will feature an air-conditioned cave for the bears, a waterfall and a swimming area with below-water viewing for visitors.
Its opening next summer will mark the return of polar bears for the first time since 1998, when Pittsburgh closed its Depression-era polar bear quarters and began planning the new exhibit.
The polar bears will be joined later by sea otters, who are scheduled to arrive in the fall of 2006, and walruses, who will come in spring 2007.
