The largest aquarium in Latin America has welcomed Brazil’s first polar bears as the stars of its R$15m (US$5m, €4.6m, £3.3m) expansion.

The two Russian polar bears are the premier attraction in Sao Paulo Aquarium’s new mammal wing, with the pair going on display for the first time on 16 April. The four and five-year-old bears have been introduced to a specially climatised area, which covers 1,500sq m (16,000sq ft) and will continuously remain at temperatures between -5ºC and -15ºC (-49ºF and -59ºF).



The two bears had previously been housed at Kazan Zoo in Russia, but had insufficient space to allow proper development. Negotiations had been ongoing between Sao Paulo Aquarium and Kazan Zoo for the past two years, with a deal being agreed at US$22,000 (€20,000, £14,600) for the pair. The bears have been in the country since the start of the year, undergoing a four-month acclimatisation period in Brazil before going on public display.

The polar bears are the centerpiece of the new mammal enclosure, which also features lemurs, meerkats, wallabies and wombats, with the aquarium's vets and biologists being given training abroad to handle the new species.

Set designer Lee Oliveira worked on the the design of the enclosures, combining with biologists to create bespoke environments that matched the needs of each animal, also theming them for visitors.

With an area of 9,000sq m (97,000sq ft) and 2 million litres of water, Sao Paulo Aquarium welcomes 30,000 visitors a month and holds around 3,000 animals across 300 species. The aquarium has twice expanded since its opening in 2006, with previous additions including its shark oceanarium and aquatic mammals wing.