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The bear's new homeAn ideal home, but who could think that it would do that?
The construction of the polar bear's enclosure was only about half completed, however, when the director was offered a good deal on one of the most beautiful polar bears he had ever laid eyes upon. In fact, when he was inspecting the animal the director almost had the experience that he was looking in the mirror when he looked into the eyes of the beast who swayed slowly back and forth as he returned the directors stare. Since good deals on polar bears don't come along very often (and such a magnificent polar bear at that) the director decided to go ahead and purchase the bear even though its enclosure was only partially completed. The bear was sedated and when it awoke it found itself in a small cage made of thick metal bars that had been placed directly in the middle of the giant naturalistic enclosure that was still under construction. It was to remain in the smaller cage until the larger structure was finished. The small enclosure was just large enough that the polar bear could take about four good-sized steps before being halted by the cold metal bars. Having nothing else in particular to do while inhabiting the small cage, the bear soon developed a habit of pacing its tiny environment. It would take four steps in one direction, rear up on its hind legs as it made a 180 degree turn slowly and with a conviction that only polar bears are capable of, and take four steps in the opposite direction before rearing up by slowly thrusting its front paws high into the air as it made its turn. AII day long the bear would slowly pace back and forth in its cage carefully observing the work crew as they labored away on the huge enclosure that surrounded it. Finally, after months of painstaking craftsmanship and steady labor, the zoo's construction crew completed the polar bear's new home. The bear was again sedated and small cage of metal bars that had been the bear's world for so many months was removed. A large crowd of zoo visitors along with the entire zoo staff and construction crew and, of course, the proud director, gathered around the enclosure and anxiously waited to see how the bear would take to its beautiful new environment. The polar bear awoke, cautiously got to its feet and shook the remains of the drug-induced sleep from its head. The director could almost feel the excitement that must have surely been building in bear's own breast, as it made ready to explore its beautiful lifelike environment. He eagerly watched as the bear took four slow but steady steps before rearing up, paws high in the air, and turned around to take four steps in the opposite direction, rearing again as it turned and retraced its first steps and reared… Robert Dilts, John Grinder, Richard Bandler & Judith Delozier In Neuro-Linguistic Programming Vol I
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The
Denver Zoo, so the tale goes, was very interested in acquiring a polar
bear. The director of the zoo at that time, a gray haired old gent with
a long white beard, had quite a penchant for polar bears. He had always
been awed by their large and muscular bodies, and respected the
primordial intelligence that he felt they demonstrated in their slow but
elegant movements and that he saw so clearly in their keen eyes. Most of
all, however, he liked their long, thick, pure white fur that reminded
him of the hair that adorned his own face. Because of this special
affinity that he felt toward the bears the director decided that the
polar bears of the Denver Zoo should have the largest and most
naturalistically built cage of all the animals in the zoo. So he set his
designers, engineers and construction crew to work to build an enclosure
that was so big and naturalistic in its representation of the splendor
of the arctic terrain that it would rival in craftsmanship and expense
the cages of even the largest and most famous zoos of the world. 
