Construction on the 5-acre exhibit will begin next month and be complete in May 2016. Officials say it’s a necessary move to comply with upcoming regulations by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They plan to eventually house five African elephants in the exhibit, which will be the first in the country to offer boat rides.

The county commissioners voted to spend $5.3 million for an elephant barn at the public-private partnership.

Officials say there will be an underwater fence so that the elephants and boats don’t come too close in the canal.