Arctic Encounter

Hello adventurers and welcome to the Arctic Encounter! This exhibit is home to our Polar bears, seals and Sea lions. As you enter the building, the chill in the air tells us that these animals live in a colder habitat than the Midwest.

To your left, you may hear the splashing of our Polar bears in the water or their low growl while exploring their habitat. Polar bears are some of the largest bears on earth. They are found in the Arctic where it is very cold and spend much of their time on the sea ice trying to catch their favorite food, seals. Polar bears have large canine teeth and thick claws that help them catch their prey. They also have large feet that they use like paddles to help them swim long distances between the sea ice. To stay warm, Polar bears have thick, coarse fur and black skin. Their dark skin helps them absorb the sunlight to stay warm, just like when we wear dark colors in the summer. They also have blubber, a thick layer of fat, to keep them warm in and out of the water. Adult Polar bears may be large, but when they are born they are about the size of a stick of butter.

To your right, there is a tank filled with water. There are Harbor and Grey seals in the exhibit. Harbor seals are small and round compared to the long and large Grey seals. The seals have hairs, called whiskers, that stick out from the sides of their faces to help them avoid running into the rocks or other animals. They swim with their front flippers tucked next to their body and their back flippers help them move smoothly through the water. On the end of their flippers, they have rounded, sharp claws to help them grip fish to eat.

There are also California sea lions in this exhibit. Sea lions are from the coast of California to Mexico. These animals are dark in coloration and use their front flippers to push themselves through the water. Ever wonder why they are called Sea lions? They roar like lions! Sea lions not only swim differently than seals, they are also able to move better on land. They have a rotating hip bone that allows them to tuck their back flippers underneath to “walk” on land. Sea lions also have external ear flaps like a human, while seals have very small ear holes.

As you exit the Arctic Encounter, to your right are more viewing windows of the Polar bears. To your left is our Arctic wolf exhibit. This exhibit can be viewed from multiple areas outside as it is a long stretching enclosure with lots of trees, grasses and shrubs. You can also view our wolves from the wolf cabin, which is up the path and to the left. The wolf cabin has two large viewing windows in the front that are centered on the wolves’ cave. You can often find the wolves relaxing in or on their cave.

Arctic wolves look a little different than other Grey wolves. They are smaller in stature with small, rounded ears and a shorter snout that helps prevent heat loss. Their fur is white year-round and is thick in the winter and thinner in the summer. They have long, lanky legs and a fluffy tail. Wolves live in packs in order to catch larger prey animals such as Musk ox and caribou. They are able to smell their prey from up to a mile away and can howl to communicate with each other up to six miles away.

As you leave our Arctic Encounter exhibit at the Toledo Zoo, we hope that the cool animals helped transport you on an Arctic adventure. Are you ready to keep exploring?