Mike the Tiger will have to share Baton Rouge with more kings and queens of the jungle.BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo is opening the “Realm of the Tiger” exhibit Saturday. The exhibit will feature three Malayan tigers, two Sumatran tigers, Siamang gibbons and a walk-through Asian aviary with about nine bird species.”In Baton Rouge, there’s not an animal at this zoo that stands out more than the tiger,” said Phil Frost, zoo director.As part of the theme, a Buddhist monk blessed the exhibit Thursday by burning incense and singing a song about harmony to create a happy and healthy environment for the animals, zoo workers and visitors.Jim Maddy, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said the Baton Rouge Zoo is on the same scale as the San Diego and Bronx zoos.The $3.25 million property tax, approved by East Baton Rouge Parish voters in 2004, provided money for the project as part of the parish’s “Imagine Your Parks” plan, according to a March 10 zoo news release. ExxonMobil donated $300,000 for the design.The zoo is required under AZA accreditation to create the highest-quality standards of animal care and welfare.Mary Woods, zoo marketing and development director, said the climate in Baton Rouge mimics the natural climate of Asia, Africa and Australia.Erin Dauenhauer-Decota, animal technician, said the zoo tries to make the tiger habitats as natural as possible.”In the wild, they eat once a week — whatever they can get,” she said. “We take what they would eat and spread it over six days.”Dauenhauer-Decota said the tigers get bones for Sunday dinner, which helps with their digestion and cleans their teeth.Accreditation also includes conservation, conservation education and standards of science, Maddy said.Javier Nevarez, assistant professor of zoological medicine at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, said zoos play a significant role in the conservation of species and in education.”Animals are reproduced in zoos, and in some instances, they’re returned to their native habitat,” Nevarez said. “People are able to come face-to-face with animals and learn about the illegal trades and other things affecting their environment.”Frost said because BREC is a government agency, they can’t use tax dollars to support conservation organizations. The Friends of the Baton Rouge Zoo organization helped raise money for conservation, he said.Woods said the zoo gave $13,000 to various animal conservation organizations last year.Maddy said the Baton Rouge Zoo’s  membership in AZA makes it a participant in the Species Survival Plan, in which zoos work to “maintain genetic diversity to sustain animal populations.”All tiger subspecies are considered endangered. Frost said there are currently fewer than 500 tigers of the Malayan and Sumatran subspecies in the wild.Dauenhauer-Decota said once the zoo gets a recommendation from the SSP to breed, their tigers can be a part of continuing the species.Maddy said leaving animals in their natural habitats is not realistic today because of population growth, urbanization and industrialization.”There’s no place on Earth where an animal’s natural free habitat is increasing,” he said. “Zoos are more important than ever.”—-Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]