Polar Bear Watch at the Baltimore Zoo

NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Polar Bear Watch at the Baltimore Zoo

BRAND-NEW EXHIBIT BRINGS THE WONDERS OF THE ARCTIC TO BALTIMORE ON OCTOBER 11

Partnership of Baltimore Zoo, Polar Bears International and Tundra Buggy Tours Fully Realized with Exhibit Debut

BALTIMORE, MD (JULY 16, 2003) As the early morning sun crests the hill, the hoots of a snowy owl, skittering of arctic fox claws and caw of a raven provide ambient music as a 1,000-pound adult male polar bear stretches to his full eight and one-half feet, flares the nostrils on his powerful snout in search of food, then dives deep into cool waters. Is this the diary of an Arctic researcher? A new Coca-Cola ad? Primetime on The Discovery Channel? No, it s just another typical morning at The Baltimore Zoo in the atypical Polar Bear Watch exhibit

On October 11, 2003, Polar Bear Watch, The Zoo s first major new exhibit in almost 10 years, will open to the public. Polar Bear Watch will provide The Zoo s worldfamous polar bears, Magnet & Alaska, with a new home, new animal neighbors and new ways to exhibit their polar bear behavior. It will also provide visitors with new experiences, new viewing angles - including underwater - and new educational opportunities.

With expanded and varied land areas, deeper swimming pools and the Tundra Buggy �, we know that Polar Bear Watch will be an entertaining experience for bears and humans alike, said Billie Grieb, president and CEO of The Baltimore Zoo.

Remarkable efforts were made to offer guests a realistic experience when visiting Polar Bear Watch. The exhibit design is guided by standards set by the Manitoba Ministry of Conservation for holding polar bears, presents a travelogue of Churchill, Manitoba, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, through photography, artifacts, and a webcam, and incorporates the only Tundra Buggy � in the U.S. into the exhibit.

As The Baltimore Zoo echoes our mission of conservation though education, we were thrilled to be asked to lend our expertise to the creation of this wonderful exhibit, remarked Robert Buchanan, president of Polar Bears International (PBI). Polar Bear Watch will also allow guests and students to broaden their knowledge of this amazing region by featuring Arctic denizens snowy owls, arctic foxes and ravens, and a dedicated educational on-line portal inside the Tundra Buggy �.

Created by Tundra Buggy � Tours (TBT) to allow for close, yet safe interaction with wild polar bears on the tundra, The Tundra Buggy � is a 57-foot long, 12 _-foot high, 25-ton vehicle. In Polar Bear Watch, the Buggy serves as both a comfortable observation area and the site of the unique Adventure Learning Center - created by The Zoo, PBI and TBT - which will allow Baltimore-area schoolchildren to view polar bears in the wild and interact with researchers and scientists in their own Tundra Buggy � in Churchill.

When The Baltimore Zoo approached us about purchasing a Tundra Buggy � for their new exhibit featuring polar bears, our first thought was how incredible it would be for their visitors to view polar bears in Baltimore they way they do here in Churchill, said Merv Gunter of Tundra Buggy � Tours.

Although Polar Bear Watch will not be open to the public until October 11, 2003, members of the media are encouraged to set up an advance, behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibit, by calling the Public Relations Department at 410.396.7102, or e-mailing zooprman@yahoo.com.

Contact: Ben Gross
Phone: 410.396.7639
E-mail: zooprman@yahoo.com