Crocodile Hunter Opens a New Tiger Exhibit at His Australia Zoo

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"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin on Thursday unveiled a multimillion dollar tiger enclosure at his privately owned zoo in eastern Australia.

BRISBANE, Australia — "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin on Thursday unveiled a multimillion dollar tiger enclosure at his privately owned zoo in eastern Australia.


Modeled on the 800-year-old temples at Cambodia's Angkor Wat, the new enclosure features a glass wall which will allow visitors to watch the tigers as they swim in a specially designed pool.


"Tigers love the water and this is the first time people will be able to watch them in the water through glass," Irwin told reporters at the Australia Zoo, on Queensland state's Sunshine Coast.


Irwin, host of the TV nature program "Crocodile Hunter," said the tiger enclosure was the first step in the construction of a new Southeast Asia exhibit, which will eventually include a 50-hectare (124-acre) elephant enclosure in which the giant animals will be allowed to roam freely.


"The time has come when we can't look at animals in cages, behind steel bars and concrete," Irwin said. "It's about interacting with animals so we can get them into people's hearts."


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The tiger enclosure opens to the public on Friday.


Source: Associated Press