"'Relax' said the nightman, 'We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like - but you can never leave.'"
- Hotel California, The Eagles
I've spent a few nights sleeping over at zoos. I've even lived in one briefly (which turns out to be a great way to make sure that you never have a day off. Ever). Some zoos offer sleepover programs. But imagine a zoo, inside a hotel?
It's not the hardest thing for me to imagine. When I was in Belize years ago, I'd heard of a hotel not far from where I was staying that kept a small zoo, so I snuck myself in for a peak. There were birds in cages, a spider monkey tethered to a tree, and a jaguar in what, I had to admit, was a roomier enclosure than I expected to find. Still, something just felt off about the whole thing to me.
That was years before I learned about opening of China's polar bear hotel, Harbin Polarland.
Here, guests' rooms in the multistory structure face a polar bear enclosure. I haven't been to able to see much of it, so I really don't have much of an understanding of the size, complexity, or layout of the enclosure. From what I understand, the hotel is a new component of an existing polar amusement park, and are currently kept completely indoors on artificial "ice" with artificial lighting. I've read (but have not verified) that there is no off-exhibit area, leaving the bears constantly on view. Granted, the source that I have for some of these facts is an organization that is opposed to bears under human management period, so there is some bias there, but being biased doesn't necessarily mean being wrong. To me, it seems like a ripe environment for stereotypic behavior and bored, stressed bears.
Ironically, this is the second polar bear hotel that I'd heard about recently. The other was the Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza, in which visitors can stay in a variety of rooms with views into the habitats of polar bears, walruses, and other animals. The reaction here from the public has been much more positive (although, to be honest, it doesn't seem like Polarland is suffering too much from any backlash - the hotel has been fully booked since it opened). What's the difference?
As I see it, there's a difference between putting a hotel in a zoo and putting a zoo in a hotel. In Pairi Daiza, animals aren't squished into a hotel setting; visitors are given rooms adjacent to the animal's enclosure - an enclosure which is large, outdoors, naturalistic, and enriching. Animals have the opportunity to remove themselves from public view and seek privacy. The needs of the bears are placed before those of the public. If need be, access to the hotel room with the bears can be closed to give the animals space and quiet.
The polar bears, walruses, and other animals don't have to be seen if they don't want to. To me, that means that when they do make a guest appearance, it'll be that much more special - because they want to be seen.
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