If the safest time to fly is the day after an accident, then now is the perfect time to build a tiger exhibit.

A few days after a 350-pound tiger leapt from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and killed a teenager, construction continued on the newest exhibit at Bismarck's Dakota Zoo. The area will house Siberian tigers and snow leopards by the middle of next summer.

Terry Lincoln, director of the zoo, said the freak accident in California is a good reminder of what must be done to ensure the safety of both the public and the animals.

"Ultimately, this helps us because it's a good reminder that we're at the perfect time now to examine how high the fence should be, what type of material we should use,"Lincoln said.

The fence in San Francisco was 12 1/2 feet high. The one in Bismarck will be about the same height - but an additional 3 feet at the top will angle back in toward the enclosure. That part of the fence will be made with a small mesh that tigers can't climb, Lincoln said. He said the barrier will be the equivalent of a 20-foot wall.

Inspectors from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums reviewed the plans for the exhibit last summer and signed off on them. The zoo also has an internal risk-management committee - comprised of board members, a veterinarian and the zoo's insurance agent - that deemed the big-cats exhibit to be safe.

Lincoln said the zoo will consider adding more security cameras near the tiger and bear enclosures, designed to monitor guest behavior as much as that of the animals.

The new exhibit should be open by mid-summer. Three tigers and two leopards will arrive at Dakota Zoo prior to the opening, to allow them to get familiar with their new surroundings.

For more information on the exhibit, visit www.dakotazoo.org.