Since Americans are unable to leave their homes with only a handful of exceptions (such as essential jobs and sporadic grocery store runs), people have to get creative in terms of entertainment, the bulk of which includes binge-watching shows like Netflix’s hit documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. While the majority of Tiger King takes place in Oklahoma and Florida, Colorado has a surprising connection to Joe Exotic and his infamous G.W. Exotic Animal Park, as dozens of his tigers have taken up residence here in the Centennial State:
Spoiler alert: Since Joe Exotic's (whose legal name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage) arrest and conviction over plotting to kill archnemesis Carole Baskin, his once-popular G.W. Exotic Animal Park was permanently closed, and his animals were seized, 42 of which were moved to Colorado.
Consisting of 39 tigers and 3 bears, the four-legged stars of Tiger King began their move to the Centennial State in 2017 and now take up residence at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg.
Known for rescuing animals from "horrific captive situations and rehabilitate them so they can live and roam freely within large natural habitats with others of their own kind," the Wild Animal Sanctuary spans an impressive 10,000 acres and allows rescued animals to both roam free and happily live out the rest of their lives.
According to a Denver Post interview with Wildlife Animal Sanctuary public relations director Kent Drotar, “The first group of 19 tigers the (Oklahoman) article talks about came to The Wildlife Animal Sanctuary as the article states on Nov 11, 2017,” adding that they "went back in early December of the same year and got 20 additional tigers from Joe and three black bear cubs, hoping to get more, but Joe reneged and we have taken no additional animals since.”
In addition to the animals from Tiger King, the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary is home to other tigers and bears, plus lions, wolves, and other rescued animals.
Unlike other public wildlife facilities, visitors of the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary do not view the animals through glass but rather from up above, as a 1.5-mile-long elevated walkway spans across the many natural habitats.
