Winnipeg's polar bears back in their underwater tunnel

Assiniboine Park Zoo's underwater polar bear viewing tunnel is open again after being shut down since September for repairs.

Johanna Green, who has a membership to the zoo, said the wait is well worth the price of admission.

"If we don't have [polar bears] here ... this is something that could just disappear from nature and otherwise no one has a chance to see them," said Green.

"Watching polar bears swim is a highlight of the Journey to Churchill experience and we are thrilled to have them open once again for the enjoyment of zoo visitors," said Don Peterkin, chief operations officer for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy.

• Polar bears chew through silicone in Winnipeg zoo's underwater tunnel

The tunnel, part of the Journey to Churchill exhibit, was closed after zoo staff discovered the bears had chewed into some of the silicone sealant around the tunnel's glass.

It was expected the repairs would close the tunnel —  known as the Sea Ice Passage — for a week or two but once the full extent of the damage was known, the effort needed to drain and repair took much longer than thought.

If nothing else goes wrong, the pools and tunnels will remain open all winter. The circulation and filtration systems used to keep the water clean also produce residual heat, which combines to keep the water from freezing, according to the zoo.

"With many of our animals more active and the underwater viewing tunnels back open, this is a great time to discover the wonders of winter at Assiniboine Park Zoo," said Brian Joseph, director of zoological operations for the zoo, which he added is home to a number of hardy, cold-climate species from northern latitudes and mountain ranges including muskoxen, snowy owls, leopards, Amur tigers, bison, reindeer, cougars and more.

"These animals are perfectly suited to our blustery but beautiful Winnipeg winters," states a news release from the zoo.

Tough year

The zoo celebrated the opening of its long-awaited Journey to Churchill exhibit in July but the big year has been overshadowed somewhat by tragedy.

In September, Baikal, a 19-year-old adult Amur tiger, found his way into an adjacent enclosure, which housed the zoo's two younger male tigers named Samkha and Vasili. The gate between the enclosures had been left unlocked by mistake, zoo officials said.

Baikal and Vasili got into a fight that ended in Baikal's death.

• High school students saw fatal tiger fight at Winnipeg zoo

And zoo staff are still mourning the death earlier this week of a harbour seal in an enclosure next to the polar bear tunnel.

The blind seal somehow became stuck in an underwater drain and was not able to free itself.

It was one of two seals that had been transferred to the zoo this past summer from the Vancouver Aquarium.

• Blind seal dies after getting trapped in drain at Winnipeg zoo
• Wolves dig out of new digs at Journey to Churchill exhibit

The zoo has also had to deal with wolves digging their way out of their Journey to Churchill exhibit and into the polar bears' enclosure.

Fortunately, that incident ended without any injuries to the animals.

The wolves and bears had to be temporarily moved out of their enclosures for repairs.