Photos: An afternoon at the Alaska Zoo

Updated: August 9, 2023 Published: August 9, 2023

Kova, a young polar bear who moved into the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage this summer, rushes to the surface as she playfully pounces on a plastic barrel while swimming in her enclosure on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

People roamed the trails and exhibits at Anchorage’s Alaska Zoo Tuesday afternoon. The zoo is tucked just below the Hillside neighborhood and has a variety of animals including small and large cats, a trio of musk oxen and bears.

Kova, a young polar bear who was moved into the zoo this summer, was one of the most active mammals Tuesday. She splashed, plunged and rolled in the water of her enclosure as her playfulness and swimming abilities stopped visitors in their tracks.

See some of our photos below.

Friends LeAnn Damron, back, and LaVonne Marton watch Kova, a young polar bear at the Alaska Zoo, swim. Damron and Marton enjoy walking around the zoo for exercise. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

A musk ox grazes at the Alaska Zoo. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Two black bears wait to be fed as they sit next to each other in their exhibit. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

An Alaska Zoo staff member teaches kids about mountain goats as the kids ask questions and watch the goats graze. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

A bald eagle sits on a perch and preens its feathers at the Alaska Zoo. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Kova, a young polar bear who moved into the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage earlier this summer, swims to the bottom of her enclosure as she plays with a plastic barrel on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Emily Mesner

Emily Mesner is a multimedia journalist for the Anchorage Daily News. She previously worked for the National Park Service at Denali National Park and Preserve and the Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, at the Cordova Times and at the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Michigan.