Tigers are coming back to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
Zoo officials broke ground on the new $9.5 million Tiger Exhibit today thanks in part to a $3-million donation from former Jaguars owners Wayne and Dolores Barr Weaver.
The exhibit will include at least six tigers including a pair of Sumatran tigers that will be used for breeding.
Other Asian animals in the exhibit will include critically endangered Viscayna warty and babirusa pigs, Asian small-clawed otters and wrinkled and wreathed hornbills.
Zoo Executive Director Tony Vecchio says what will set the Tiger Exhibit apart from others is it's design.
"The zoo plans to build an exhibit that will recognize and channel natural walking behavior of these animals to produce a remarkable, active experience for our tigers and guests."
In other tiger zoo exhibits there is a lot of open space, so instead of the tigers walking around surveying their territory, they spend a lot of time asleep.
The exhibit is expected to be open early next year.
