SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On Monday, Nov. 24, the Potawatomi Zoo is proud to announce a $100,000 gift from the 1st Source Foundation for Big Cat Tracks, the Zoo’s newest capital project. Big Cat Tracks is a state-of-the-art Amur tiger and leopard habitat that transforms two acres of the Zoo’s southeast corner.

Big Cat Tracks will integrate the existing landscape of the park space into wooded, more naturalistic habitats for Amur leopards and Amur tigers. There will also be new amenities for visitors, including new bathrooms and a playground area.

“This project is so important for our big cats right now, and it will hopefully allow us to have breeding programs in the future,” says Josh Sisk, executive director of the Potawatomi Zoo. “The new habitats will be larger as well as more naturalistic and designed to encourage the unique behaviors of each species.”

Big Cat Tracks is a $5.5 million project, part of phase three of the Zoo’s master plan, which also included the concessions Lodge and Andean bear habitat that opened in 2024. Funding for Big Cat Tracks has come from private and public funding sources, individuals, and organizations.

For more details on the Big Cat Tracks project and naming opportunities, visit this website.