At first thought, a polar bear in sunny San Diego seems curiously out of place. But with San Diego Zoo's Polar Bear Plunge, you'll discover that polar bears are right at home, where every day is an Arctic summer day.

This exhibit of more than 2 acres (0.81 hectares) brings the Arctic tundra south, with Siberian reindeer, Pallas' cats, northern birds, and native plants, along with polar bears.
The focal point of the exhibit is, naturally, the Plunge: 130,000 gallons (494,000 liters) of water cooled to 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Celsius). From the underwater viewing room, protected by a five-inch (127-millimeter) thick acrylic panel, you can see how agile and playful the polar bears really are. In fact, they're known to swim right up to the glass to check out all the humans on display. A large sandbox and open spaces on the banks of the Plunge also allow the bears to dig around or maybe take a nap—just like on the Arctic tundra.

Watch the polar bears live on the Polar Cam!