Bob the Bobcat and a future cougar will have a new home called Cougar Crossing at the Birmingham Zoo.

Larry and Phyllis Wojciechowski have donated $1 million to the zoo’s Cougar Crossing Capital Campaign, the zoo announced this week.

The $1 million gift toward a $4 million goal for the project ensures that it will move forward, the zoo said.

“Larry and Phyllis have been amazing supporters of the good work we do since their first visit in 2017,” said Chris Pfefferkorn, president and CEO of the Birmingham Zoo.

“Initially, they were moved by the extreme commitment of our zookeepers to provide the absolute best care for our animals, then they initiated an endowment for our conservation efforts,” Pfefferkorn said. “Today, they are invested in seeing the footprint of your Zoo continue to grow.”

The Wojciechowski donation, combined with grants from the Hugh Kaul Foundation, The Daniel Foundation of Alabama, the Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust and the Zoo’s Junior Board, have raised over $3 million towards the total goal.

“We are thrilled to be able to invest in our Zoo and its amazing staff,” the Wojchiechowskis said in a statement released by the zoo. “The addition of Cougar Crossing will further expand education and conservation opportunities for children and adults. Bob the bobcat, and the new cougar to come, will have amazing habitats that allow all of us to learn how to live with these beautiful native animals in our great state.”

The public phase of the campaign will kick off in April with a groundbreaking ceremony later in the fall.