Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge

Awesome place to visit! Love those big cats!

This place is pretty amazing! It’s a refuge and not a zoo, so you won’t be spending all day here. The animals are well taken care of and our guide, Kim, was AWESOME! The grounds and animal enclosures are immaculate! It was ⁹⁰⁄₉₂ degrees when we were there and you couldn’t smell anything (you know how the zoo tends to get a little smelly in the heat). Very informative and a great cause!

What an incredible treat this trip was! while driving on the highway, we saw a billboard for Tiger Creek and knew we had to check it out! This place is amazing! They rescue and take care of so many big cats from sad situations and they thrive here! For $ 15, you get a tour of the facility and are within feet of these big cats! it was just beautiful! I’m so glad we stopped!

We had a wonderful time at this reserve. It was really neat to see the great rehabilitation and protection facilities that Tiger Creek offers the animals after idiot humans realize that big cats don’t make good pets. If you can get Shelby as your guide, do so. She is wonderful and a fount of knowledge! Don’t forget to tip your guide!

This place is amazing! You can tell they truly care about the animals wellbeing. Theyve done a lot of contruction to make better habitats for the animals. Staff is very nice and well informed. Will definately be stopping by again.

This place is absolutely a hidden gem in Texas. They are doing such a noble thing and the neat part is that you can see about 40 big cats up close that could only be seen by binoculars at most big zoos. The price is not too expensive, about $ 15 per person but it is all tax deductible. Every bit of what you spend goes towards the animals and with some of these magnificent animals eating 19 lbs of food a day, every little bit helps. If you have a chance to spend a few hours it is definitely worth your time.

We were pleased with this growing refuge. They are working hard to expand and give the tigers and such more room. You definitely get the vibe that they are more about saving the animals than just putting them on display. The guided tour is nice. My only complaint is that it is hard to get good pics because all of the fences. Don’t roll your eyes! I know what you are saying. They are Tigers! But, some places are designed so that you can still get good pics and be safe.

Be aware, this is a refuge first and a zoo second. I’m writing to say that as a refuge, these folks go a bang-​up job. The cats here are very well cared for and show it. Though some have come through hell, they’re living the good life now. The staff are nice and knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. You can see these beatiful animals from a very close range, so that you can appreciate them. You also learn about big cat conservation and why large wild cats don’t make good pets.
It is well worth the drive out to see them and to give them support for their mission, which is to save cats from exploitation and abuse at the hands of the ignorant and the evil. Good on them.

I absolutely love what these folks do for the animals in their care. Unfortunately, my friend and I decided to go on one of the hottest days of the year. There is pretty much no shade during the tour. Halfway through the tour, I just couldn’t deal, and waited for my friend in their gift shop. The shop is nice but small, and there are no chairs (except outside).
My advice: Choose a day to go when you won’t mind being in the elements.

Note that this is NOT a tourist attraction! This is a REFUGE and a PRESERVE. We are privileged to observe these animals in their habitat where they are under the care of compassionate people. They allow us in because they need funds to keep the preserve operating… MOST of the animals ARE sterilized (according to our guide) but when the facility expands they may breed… just because Tigers are endangered… I want to visit again!

Driving towards our destination north of Tyler, we saw the sign, «Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge». I quickly found it on Unilocal and read Chris M’s fantastic review. Returning the next morning with our friends, we were treated to a 45 minute tour and viewing of all the big cats who reside at the refuge. They are amazing animals, each with a different story of abuse, neglect or displacement, and now, each with a happy life.
One of Michael Jackson’s tigers, «Thriller», from Neverland is here. We saw him peeking out of his cement bunker but he did not come out. Each cat has a unique personality and some are «friendlier» than others. The refuge houses all varieties of big cats: Bengal, Siberian, Black Asian Leopard, Bobcat, Puma, and African Lion.
Many thanks to our tour guide, Brian, who patiently answered our questions and provided us with interesting information on our tour. The refuge operates entirely on donations and plans are in the works to build a veterinary clinic in the future. If you are in the area, take a walk on the wild side and go see the big cats.

Fourteen years ago in July of 1998 when I was 16, my mom brought me to Tiger Missing Link in Tyler, Tx as a surprise for my birthday. We drove upon a buidling, walked inside and there was Terry with a baby tiger cub, Piffer. Piffer was an indochinese tiger. He was awesome! I was so fortunate to be able to be hands on with him. I remember playing with him on the floor, having to keep a stuffed animal in his mouth to keep him from playfully biting me, because a playful tiger cub nibble would probably draw some blood! When he was hungry, I was able to bottle feed him in my arms. It was surreal. I was mezmerized by this cat. It was a once in a lifetime experience for me, a girl who loves tigers so much!
So yesterday, 14 long years later, I brought my mom and my 7 year old son back to where my heart was stolen by a baby tiger cub. The refuge is now called Tiger Creek. When we drove up, I remembered the building I had previously gone into before, but that’s not where we were to go that day. We parked and began to walk to the Visitor Center. We passed by where they were building new housing for cats and as I looked to my left I could see huge facilities that had just been finished within the last few years. Wow, how this place had grown! It brought tears to my eyes to think of how many amazing things had gone on to make this place what it is today! When it opened to the public, they had only a few cats. Now they have 42 big cats and 29 of those are tigers! They also have leopards, bobcats and lions. How wonderful! We walked into the Visitor Center and paid for our tour. We asked if Terry was there because we had pictures from my last visit there to show her. She was out of town, but we left some pictures for her to see when she got back. We asked about Piffer and sadly found out that he had passed away in 2009 from a fatty liver disease, uncommon in a tiger that was not overweight. My heart broke a little, but later found out that before he passed away, he and Lexi, a siberian tiger at the facility unkowingly mated and had… Gunther! Gunther was awesome! He had a massive face with piercing eyes and beautiful color. We were able to get a great picture of him, thanks to our wonderful tour guide!
Let’s talk about our tour guide. Her name was Heather. She’s from Kentucky and was interning there for 3 months and this was her last week there. She was excellent. You could tell that she had a passion for these animals. She knew everything about each and every cat. She knew which one was which by their coloring, she knew about their temperments and personalities. She knew where they came from and their back story of how they came to the facility. She knew about each cat that had previously passed away, including Piffer, which is how we found out about his little escapade with Lexi. She loved each and every one of them and it showed by the way she talked about them. She answered every question that my mother asked, and boy, can she ask questions! We were so thankful to have such a wonderful, knowledgeable, passionate intern to teach us about these amazing creatures.
Needless to say at this point, we loved it there. We are so thankful there is a facility dedicated to care and love on these big cats. We are excited that they are still building newer, bigger areas to house them. Thanks so much to Terry, staff and interns for your hearts for these magnificant cats. Your hard work and dedication are a clear result of the calling God has placed on your life. Thank you speaking for the most beautiful cats on earth.

Yes, believe it or not, there’s a wonderful paradise in Tyler, TX that houses some Big Cats. I’m not talking your usual Siamese or Garfield, these cats eat large chunks of raw meat as a snack, and can make one feel quite humbled. This is a really cool place to visit.
My mother lives in Michigan but donates to Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge for their cause, which is: «To provide rescue and rehabilitation of big cats that have been abused, neglected or displaced.» So when Mom planned a trip to TX to visit me in Austin, she naturally requested a roadtrip to Tyler, TX as the high priority. I emailed the co-​founders (Brian & Terri Werner) to inquire about visitations, they were extremely nice, responsive and informative and explained the tour process. They were also looking forward to meeting us as well.
After a 4+ hr scenic drive to Tyler we finally reached our destination. I had no idea what to expect, the entrance sort of reminded me of a Jurassic Park scene, but just follow the signs and dirt road to the parking area. We were greeted at the office by a very friendly team of people, you can pay $ 10 per adult for a guided tour or $ 56 for the family pass and come back as many times as you want for the year. We get the family pass and Chelsea proceeds to lead us on a guided tour of their grounds. My adrenaline is starting to flow.
Wow, it was so cool and exciting to get up and close to some of those tigers and lions, and they even have Michael Jackson’s tiger from his Neverland Ranch. Chelsea was so awesome and informative which really heightened the experience, she was very detailed and thorough about each tiger and you could tell she knew her stuff. Every tiger has it’s own look and personality, and it was so exciting and fun to watch each of them frolicking in their environment.
They are expanding the play areas for the tigers to give them more room and options to play and roam. In the end we got to meet Terri and Brian, who were so nice and appreciative of our support. It’s very obvious how much they love these animals as they are treated with plenty of care, love, and respect. I must say it was well worth the drive, my mother was very happy and pleased to see her donations used toward a noble cause, and the staff was excellent, super friendly, and professional. It’s a trip I would highly recommend, an experience you will never forget.

A very nice place with a wonderfully cheerful staff but the facility is not exactly setup to be visitor friendly. There is a soda machine at the visitor center/​gift shop which was nice. The summer intern that gave us the tour was very nice and knowledgable.

Wonderful place, wonderful staff, wonderful cause. Seeing the big cats is breathtaking, and hearing their stories is even more touching. The guided tour takes 15 – 20 minutes, but they staff encourages you to hang around after it and look some more. There is a small, but nice gift shop, and visitors can «adopt» a tiger for $ 30. All proceeds benefit the non-​profit. There is a bathroom on site, but it is an enclosed portable potty. Clean. We loved Tiger Creek so much that we traveled two hours, two weekends in a row, to visit it.

I visited here with my friends. The guided tour was great and we got to learn so much. Will go back here for sure :)
Great work done by the team.

My husband and I think this place is wonderful! We had the greatest tour guide who was interning there. She was very knowledgeable and we learned so much from her, in fact I feel like kind of a expert on big cats now!!! The tour fee is only $ 10 for adults and its tax deductible as a donations!
They have two tigers from Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch and one tiger from the Ringling brothers Barlem and bailey’s circus and many more tigers from individual owners that couldn’t keep them anymore. There are mostly tigers, however they do have a pride of lions and some pumas, leopards and bobcats.
We got to see them do the target training with two of the tigers teaching them to touch targets so that they can give the tigers physical examinations without having to tranquilize the animal.
If you are going to visit I would recommend the morning after they are fed, our tour guide said they are more active in the mornings and in the afternoons they sleep a lot.
These animals are truly amazing and the people at Tiger Creek are great! I would highly recommend coming here!

Granted, I could be a bit biased since I interned out here in the Summer of 06 (and just got back from another trip to visit my human and animal loves after going through severe withdrawals), but this place is definitely a required stop if you are in the area (and even if you’re not, you should add it to your to-​do list).
For an entrance fee, you can go on a 30 – 45 min tour led by an intern, keeper, or even the park director depending on how busy the day is, and meet all of the cats. There are tigers, lions, bobcats, leopards and cougars, and you’ll learn not only about their personal stories (some of which are quite sad, especially Simon’s), but also learn some facts and natural history about these cats. The people leading the tours, especially the interns (who work only for room and board), are out there because they love the animals, so you can’t ask for better tour guides. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like, and if you’re lucky you might even catch one of the cats posing for your pictures (they tend to be completely ambivalent of whether or not a lens is pointed at them). If it’s a nice day out, I’d recommend bringing a picnic lunch, several tables are available and it’ll give you a chance to meet some of the other animals running around, namely Buddy (a large fluffy dog-​like animal), and Jojo, the fiercest cat of them all.
A fully stocked gift shop gives you plenty of options for souvenirs, and more importantly will provide a brochure detailing the plans Tiger Creek has to expand, which include building expansive habitats and developing a visitor’s center/​museum, and the improvements they’ve recently made.
Considering big cats are so endangered all over the world, it is important to have places like Tiger Creek which can entertain while educating, providing awareness and motivation needed to support conservation efforts.