42 Tiger King animals now reside in Colorado

By Natasha Lovato

In the midst of a nationwide shutdown, the docu-series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” was released to anxious eyes and minds on Netflix. And though the internet is booming with excitement over it, The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, wants people to recognize the unfortunate reality of what the show depicts.

While it focuses on the eccentric backstories of colorful people like Joe Exotic and his big cat park in Oklahoma, the show downplays the atrocities of backyard zoos and wild animal exploitation, something The Wild Animal Sanctuary is all too familiar with.

Pat Craig, founder and executive director of The Wild Animal Sanctuary, shared his familiarity with Joe Exotic when the sanctuary was sent to rescue 39 tigers and three bears from Exotic’s backyard zoo. Craig explained how the docu-series star had a long history of trouble with law enforcement and his park has since been taken over by adjacent “Tiger King” star, Jeff Lowe. The Wild Animal Sanctuary wasn’t able to rescue all of the animals because Lowe continued operating the business after Exotic’s arrest. But now with the COVID-19 pandemic, Craig suspects they will suffer without much of an income to take care of the massive beasts.

“I have a feeling we will be going back there very soon,” he said.

Luckily for the animals that were shipped to Colorado, they will now live out the rest of their lives in the 10,000-plus acre sanctuary just 40 miles northeast of Denver.

“The tigers we saved from Joe were cubs that grew up together so we were able to put them in habitats adjacent to each other in about 20 acres each,” Craig said. “Same goes for the bears. They have underground dens they can hibernate in for the winter.”

The Wild Animal Sanctuary wants to educate the public on the red flags to look for when it comes to illegitimate zoos.

“Even Joe said in the show that baby animals are his money maker,” Craig said. “Anyone who has cubs is trying to make money off of people holding (and petting) them.”

Craig explained that the problem with backyard zoos is that when the tiger cubs grow up, the zoos get more cubs in and eventually their adult tiger population gets out of hand.

Once the young animals are removed from the care of their mothers, they fail to learn natural instincts, such as roaring, Craig explained. By the time the Sanctuary is able to intervene, animals must be rehabilitated.

“Look at it from the animal’s perspective,” Craig said. “If you were this elephant or if you were this sloth, would you like what they’re being exposed to?”

He explained that any human contact with wild animals is bad news. “Any kind of animal you can interact with, you can guarantee it’s for exploitation,” Craig said. “If you see animals chained down, they’re drugged and kept like that all day. If they are making money off pictures or have multiple ways of charging people, it is not in the animal’s best interest.”

Craig said that most people in the United States are unaware of the problem with backyard zoos. But he plans to continue educating people and helping wild animals.

Although The Wild Animal Sanctuary is closed because of the pandemic, the animals are still being cared for and donations can be made in many forms by clicking here.