SAN DIEGO, March 22 (UPI) -- Workers at the San Diego Zoo said the site's polar bear exhibit was renovated as part of an effort to highlight the threat of climate change.
Biologist Megan Owen, who works at the zoo's Institute for Conservation Research, said the $1 million renovation of the Polar Bear Plunge includes exhibit displays showcasing the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions, The San Diego Union-Tribune said Monday.
"The time frame to act on changing our habits to improve the situation for polar bears is very short," Owen said.
Zoo officials said they decided to renovate the polar bear exhibit amid concern for melting Arctic ice. The renovations represent the zoo's ongoing attempts to highlight how global warming impacts animal life.
"Our colleagues in the wild started going, 'Something's really wrong out here. It's not bouncing back,'" JoAnne Simerson, the zoo's primary polar bear zookeeper, said.
The Union-Tribune said starting Friday, the San Diego Zoo's estimated 3 million visitors a year will have access to the revamped zoo exhibit.
