Lake Superior Zoo's polar bear to celebrate 20th birthday

DULUTH - Saturday will be a special day at the Lake Superior Zoo - it's the 20th birthday for Berlin the polar bear.

She'll enjoy fresh clean water in her pool, just filled up Friday. But her real treat comes Saturday.

"She is actually going to be getting a birthday cake," said Lizzie Johnson, Berlin's caretaker. 

Born the year that the Berlin Wall came down, Berlin will celebrate her birthday with a public party.  She'll get her cake at noon. 

"It's gonna be a layered cake that's actually going to be having jello, ice and then one of her favorite fish inside of it," Johnson said.

Renovating Berlin's enclosure is the most recent upgrade at the zoo, as managers work on a master plan of improvement.

"I'm really excited about what we've got going on here," said Anita Johnson, marketing director for the zoo. 

Zoo staff are in the middle of listening to public comments about what should be included in the zoo's master plan.

"We always get the questions, 'Why don't you have the elephants?,' 'Could you bring in some giraffes?,' and those animals would be fine during the summer, but they're not suited for our winter climate," Johnson said. 

She added managers will be looking at new uses for existing buildings and new programs, and they'll face some tough choices.  Johnson suggested Berlin may be alone for good due to the rising costs associated with polar bears.

"They're an animal that's getting very difficult to get and also they're very expensive to keep," she said.

The final edition of the plan is due Feb. 1, and will be made public two weeks later.  It will include short and long term goals, likely to cost millions of dollars, most of which may have to come from the public. Then, the staff plans to re–apply for accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2011, which was lost in 2006.

As for Berlin's birthday, even Santa Claus is coming to celebrate from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Kids can get their pictures taken with Santa for a small fee, then share birthday cake for Berlin at noon.