The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation in Salt Lake City has awarded $3 million to the Hogle Zoo to help plan and construct an arctic exhibit and return polar bears to the zoo, the Deseret Morning News reports.

Polar bears have been absent from the zoo since November 2003, when a fourteen-year-old bear died after swallowing a glove that had been thrown into its cage. The grant will support the Renew the Zoo campaign, which already has funded the renovation of elephant and tiger exhibits. The zoo is still short almost $17 million for the arctic exhibit, but officials believe the grant from the foundation will jump-start funding efforts and allow the zoo to start a planning process.

The four-acre arctic exhibit will use glass to separate visitors from the bears, allowing zoo patrons to watch the bears on land and underwater. In addition to the bears, the exhibit may also feature arctic foxes, wolves, seals, and northern birds such as white owls. According to zoo spokesperson Holly Braithwaite, the exhibit is a priority for the zoo because saving polar bears in zoos may preserve them from extinction. When the exhibit is complete, the zoo hopes that it will help educate guests about the importance of human impact on endangered animals' habitats.

"We have supported the Hogle Zoo over the years and have been very impressed with their master plan and excited about their future," said foundation president Lisa Eccles. "We just thought this is something that all citizens of the state of Utah will enjoy."