East Texas

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

RED SPRINGS — One expects to hear growls, grunts and roars upon visiting Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge, but the buzzing of saws, hammers and welding machines filling the air now mean a greener, more eco-friendly facility in the future.

Jennifer Reddington, the park’s director of animal care, walked the 25-acre facility with the Tyler Morning Telegraph Thursday and showed the newspaper the new housing for the 46 big cats that include tigers, lions, cougars, bobcats and leopards.

The new enclosures are about a quarter-acre which is fenced in with a 12 foot fence with another four foot extension mounted on the top which slants in toward the enclosure.

“They really have a lot of room to run and roam around in these new enclosures,” Ms. Reddington said as she pointed into the area housing two new additions to the refuge.

“This is Skonda and Padma our two newest tigers that we rescued from a Florida refuge that was closing,” she said.

Skonda, a 2-year-old male and Padma, a 2-year-old female, sat resting under a shade tree next to a water tank.

“We kept as many trees as we could in the enclosure and we think this will be beneficial to them,” she said.

In the rear of the pen is the new house where the cats will be fed, treated and where they will sleep. The building will hold four cats in two different enclosures when completed. The cedar and stone building blends into the wooded landscape, but the thick walls and insulation mean the cats will be comfortable in both summer and winter.

The $142,000 green habitat is located within the new section along the back side of Tiger Creek. The habitats are the first of 20 being created.

“What’s even more unique is that the newly constructed enclosures were designed and built as “Living Green Zones” making Tiger Creek the first ecological friendly wildlife refuge in the country. Even the stone structured cat houses are eco-friendly and have solar powered lights for both normal operations as well as emergency lighting. The housing is designed with both passive systems as well as solar capacity that takes our green commitment level a step above and beyond other animal facilities,” founder Brian Werner said.

Ms. Reddington said the facility has grown in recent years and that the 46 cats eat a combined total of 240 pounds of beef, 120 pounds of chicken leg quarters and 10 pounds of ground beef five times a week.

“If we had more money to continue the development of the new houses we would be through a lot quicker, but we have to work with what we have,” she said.

The refuge also added a new lioness with the acquisition of 1-year-old Manda also from the Florida refuge.

Ms. Reddington said Manda will serve as a new mate to Stormy, but she first must undergo treatment for badly cracked pads on her feet.

“We’re excited about the new tigers and Manda and about the new eco-friendly housing and are hoping that everyone will come out and see what we are doing,” she said.

Tiger Creek is located just south of Farm-to-Market 16 on FM 14 in Smith County. More information about the refuge can be found at its Web site at www.tigercreek.org.

Jennifer Reddington, Tiger Creek’s director of animal care, shows off the new outdoor enclosure.
((Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero))