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Story: Zoos and aquariums

Polar bear enclosure

Image
Polar bear enclosure

The Wellington Zoo polar bear enclosure, shown here in the 1930s, was a steep concrete-and-stone bank with a plunge pool at one end. Polar bears are difficult to keep healthy in captivity and they are no longer kept in New Zealand’s zoos.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP-0347-1/2; G

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Maggy Wassilieff, Zoos and aquariums – Zoo animals and entertainment, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/18433/polar-bear-enclosure (accessed 17 June 2026).

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 1 March 2009.