The Finished Habitat - Click for a larger picture.

After a year of construction – and reconstruction – the first waterfall habitat has been completed. Now the water-loving tigers will have a pond, a cave and a climbing area. Currently the tigers play in water troughs in the larger exercise yards, but that doesn’t compare to what we started building in the summer of 2004. Take a look.

These pictures show the progress as we construct the first of what we hope are many big cat habitats. These waterfall habitats are a key to the Executive Director's overall vision for Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge. Click here to learn more about the strategic plan Brian Werner has developed for Tiger Creek in the coming years. Click here to help us achieve our goals.

The retaining wall is completed, and defines the landscape in the habitat area. Can't see it yet? Keep reading.

Construction was not easy – is it ever? There was delay after delay. The first big setback came when our contractor couldn't meet his obligations setting us back about 6 months.

Dreams and drawings turn into reality as the pond takes shape. From small beginnings...

Our interns were involved in construction from the beginning by helping to shape "rocks", and lots of other ways. Their help was invaluable, and wonderful and appreciated. Our interns are the best!

After days of mixing cement and shaping "rocks" the first stage of the pond is completed. This is really happening. Woohoo!

We didn’t see one of the interns most of the summer because he spent his time shaping concrete to make the cave area smooth and safe for the animals. (Thanks Mike!)

The "rock" formation that features the waterfall begins to take shape. This angle shows the cave entrance.

Billy Williamson was hired to complete the project but we had to wait until he found time in his schedule to come work on it! Billy has done work at many zoos designing and building their natural habitats. Billy then discovered that some of the pipes were going to be exposed so more “rocks” were added to ensure the animals could not damage the pipes.

The "rocks" and waterfall at this stage are an encouraging sight. Lots of work remains.

The work on shaping the concrete into rocks continued into the spring of 2005. Then we held our breath as we added water and looked for leaks. As it turned out... No worries.

Look mom! No visible pipes, no leaks. This habitat thing is a GO. Now, let's stain the "rocks" so they look natural, and finish up the landscaping.

Fencing the perimeter began in the spring and was completed in the fall 2005. There were several setbacks on completing the fencing – but we didn’t let a little thing like a hurricane named Rita stop us for long.

The fencing goes up! Does this mean we're finished?

It was worth the wait - the enclosure is beautiful and we can't wait to get the first tiger in there!