February 29, 2024— When March 20th arrived in 2020, much of the world was sequestered to their homes in early pandemic quarantining – but that date had an additional notorious connotation… March 20th also marked the release of the Netflix docuseries, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.
The series chronicled the outlandish world of various roadside zoo properties and their inner feuds with one another, as well as those in the animal rescue world. It would quickly be streamed in millions of households.
Between stay-at-home orders and the subject of the most popular show in the world, four years ago was a strange time.
Years prior in December 2017, Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary had rescued 39 Tigers and 3 Bears from Joe Exotic’s roadside zoo (AKA the central character in the show).
It was not long after watching the bombastic series that viewers began to look into the current whereabouts of the Tiger King animals. A quick search revealed that 42 animals were currently residing at the world’s largest and oldest carnivore sanctuary 45 minutes northeast of Denver – living in spacious, large acreage habitats!
However, at that time, many of the show’s players were still in operation.
Fast forward several months, and the first of many rescues from those aforementioned individuals began as USDA violations piled up during inspections with their facilities.
What proceeded was a multi-part rescue process throughout 2021. The Department of Justice asked The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) to manage the removal of most of the animals between Oklahoma and Indiana and loading them for their new homes with licensed facilities – including TWAS.
To date, The Wild Animal Sanctuary has rescued over 140 animals from various players in the Tiger King saga.
In its own way, the show spotlit the Captive Wildlife Crisis, the very issue that TWAS has been educating the public on for over four decades. It brought the topic into millions of homes.
A life of being handed from person to person as cubs, or continuously bred to supply cub-petting ventures, or simply pacing in confining spaces for years un-end for human entertainment is all in the past. Now, these 140+ tigers, lions, bears, wolves, hybrid cats, and smaller cats can roam in expansive, natural habitats between TWAS’ two carnivore locations in Colorado. Full bellies, world-class healthcare, rolling grass under paw, and open sky to fill with roars.
TWAS’ location in Keenesburg, Colorado is the only facility open to the public for education every day. For more information on the Tiger King rescues and how to support this Colorado nonprofit, its mission, and/or how to visit, please explore: www.wildanimalsanctuary.org
This is a paid sponsored content article from The Wild Animal Sanctuary.
