White tigers move into Downtown Aquarium

11:56 AM CST on Thursday, December 2, 2004

From 11 News Staff Reports

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HOUSTON -- Cats and water usually don't mix, but one entrepreneur has made it happen in Houston. The Downtown Aquarium is now home to four white tigers. They're part of a new exhibit called White Tigers of the Maharaja’s Temple.

KHOU

The white tigers are among the world's rarest animals.

The tigers were introduced to the public Wednesday by Aquarium owner Tilman Fertitta. "I think everbody's going to see this is a spectacular exhibit for downtown," he said.

The adult tigers are Marina, Nero and Coral. The Downtown Aquarium is holding a contest to name the baby tiger, which was born on October 4.

The Downtown Aquarium received certification from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in September which allowed the facility to become home to large mammals such as white tigers.

They are the only white tigers in Houston and four of only a few dozen in the world. White tigers are even more rare than pandas. The Aquarium hopes to raise awareness of the tiger's plight through education.

City officials also hope the tigers help raise interest in downtown.

The Downtown Management District tells us the addition of another family attraction here should bring more tourism and convention business to the streets of downtown.

Just last month a 20-year plan was released that details the type of development Houston needs.

"One of the things in that plan was saying we need to add more and more what we call daytime attractions," explained Bob Eury, with the Downtown Management District. "Attractions that aren't dependent upon performance times or game times and all that."

Downtown's newest residents fit the bill. they'll be on display 7 days a week.