New Owner
Carole Baskin gets control over ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic’s zoo
Tiger King premiered on Netflix in March
Carole Baskin now has control of the zoo formally owned by Joe Exotic. The stars of the Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, are embed in another chapter of their long-standing battle. On Monday, it was reported that Carole and her Big Cat Rescue corporation have been granted control of the Oklahoma zoo property after a judge found that it was fraudulently transferred to Joe’s mother a number of years ago. The G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma was previously under control by Jeff Lowe.
Jeff, who was a prominent figure on the series has 120 days to vacate the premise in addition to his animals. Since the series aired, fans have been wondering if the zoo was still operating under Jeff’s leadership. In March director Eric Goode revealed that it is still up and running, but business is not the same. “No one is going now and there’s no source of income, and that’s been going on for a long time,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s not something that just happened because of what’s happening in the world today.”
Tiger King stunned the world when it premiered on Netflix in March. Fans were captivated about the story of Joe Exotic, who is now serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2019 for paying a hitman $3,000 to kill Carole. In addition, he was also found guilty of falsifying wildlife records and violating the Endangered Species Act.
Carole, who was also a polarizing figure on the true crime docuseries left many viewers across with the question of ‘Did She or Didn’t She’ when it came to the murder of her first husband Don Lewis – who went missing over 20 years ago.
In April, Don’s attorney spoke out about his mysterious disappearance. “I do have reason to believe he is dead,” attorney Joseph Fritz tells PEOPLE. “Too many indications of foul play, too many motives, too many opportunities. He wouldn’t leave him family, his fortune and his kids behind. There was enough motive and enough opportunity for something bad to have happened, and it probably did.”
