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Arctic Shores

Arctic Shores New Exhibit Opened March 2012

View the photo gallery

Polar Extremes: Arctic Shores Phase I

Phase I of Polar Extremes is inspired by an Arctic shoreline, allowing guests to get closer to animals and nature in an naturalized environment. The quality of life for the seals and sea lion currently living at the zoo will be vastly improved with a new indoor/outdoor pool and shoreline. Arctic foxes and ground squirrels will also gain new habitats.

Construction is nearing completion. Commissioning of the systems, staff training and animal introductions will occur over the next while. Polar Extremes: Arctic Shores opened to the public in 2012.

Environmental Features

As part of the City of Edmonton's commitment to the environment, the exhibit will be created with many sustainable features, including:

• Green roof to minimize storm water runoff.
• Capturing storm water and treating it on site using streams and natural wetlands.
• Treating the water in the seal/sea lion pools on site with a combination of mechanical equipment and subsurface saltwater wetland so it can be reused in the animals' aquatic home.
• Drought-tolerant planting.
• Dark-sky-compliant exterior lighting.

Seals and Sea Lion Winter Retreat Building

Concept Drawing

Visitors will be able to get up-close views of the seals and sea lions as they lounge, work with staff in their training area, or slide in and out of their underwater access way to their outdoor habitat.

Outdoor Habitat

The larger outdoor habitat will be a re-creation of an Arctic shore line, complete with cobbled beaches, eroded ice-scoured earth banks, and Arctic Foxes scampering along the beach.

Life Support Building

The Life Support Building houses a state-of-the-art filtration designed to minimize energy by utilizing wetland treatment systems. Pool water will be filtered naturally by plant materials within a working salt water marsh serving as a natural water treatment facility. In total 870,000 litres or 229,000 gallons of water will be circulated and filtered every ninety minutes. This is the total volume of water that the seals and sea lions will swim and splash about in their new home.

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