NEW ORLEANS - The largest private donation ever made to the Audubon Nature Institute will bring the lion's roar back to the Audubon Zoo.

Shipbuilding philanthropists Boysie Bollinger and his wife, Joy, have donated $5 million to fund a new habitat for African lions. The donation marks the largest single gift the zoo has ever received from an individual or family.

Multiple media outlets report the plan calls for a new 1.5-acre exhibit on a site that now houses the zoo's eland collection. The lions' new home is slated to be finished as early as 2018.

This fall marks three years since lions have been at the zoo. Bubba, a male, died of cancer in May 2013. A 19-year-old female, Cassie, "retired" to the Audubon Species Survival Center later that year.