SOMETIMES a trip to the zoo is not enough.

People's desire to get closer to animals that would normally tear them to pieces is driving a new breed of zoo experiences.



In Darwin you can snorkel with crocs, in South Africa you can cage dive with sharks and now in Canada you can swim with polar bears.



The incredible encounter is part of a daring initiative at Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat in Ontario in Canada, offering visitors the chance to come face to face with world's largest land predator.

With the safety of 25cm Plexiglass, the “people pool” has been specially designed to mimic the bear's natural habitat.

The wading pool is heated and is used from May to October.

Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat said the initiative has been created to raise awareness about the animals and reduce hunting by encouraging a more personal encounter.

They also hope the bears will gain more stimulation from swimming with humans.

Since the pool was developed, bears have been spotted laying low in the water and “stalking” swimmers as they would in the wild.

The two bears in the picture are females, known as Aurora and Nikita, and were rescued after their mother was shot by a hunter.

The experience is similar to another adrenalin animal experience here in Australia.

In Darwin’s Crocosaurus Cove swimmers can enter a 3m high “Cage of Death”, made of acrylic-strengthened glass.

The cage is then lowered into an enclosure which is home to four saltwater crocodiles - the largest weighing 700kg - for 15 minutes at a time.

You have to be 15 to enter the cage, but there's also a small viewing pool for youngsters aged three to 14, which is separated from the crocodile enclosure by walls of acrylic glass.



While zoos are trying to get away from the old perception of animals behind bars, not all experiences have to be extreme to attract the public.

The Roar and Snore at Sydney's Taronga Zoo - in which visitors get to spend the night under the stars with the animals - is extremely popular.



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Pictures: Face to face with crocs in Crocosaurus



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