Three More ‘Tiger King’ Cats Relocated to Colorado

The 'Tiger King' documentary on Netflix gave the world a glimpse into the crazy world of private 'big cat' roadside zoos in 2020. Now, after former Greater Wynnewood Animal Park (GW Zoo) owner and star of the series Joe Exotic has been sentenced to basically life in prison, his former cats are being rescued and some of them have been relocated to Colorado.

Yesterday, three of GW Zoo's lions were rescued from the zoo, now owned by Exotic's former friend and business partner Jeff Lowe, and are now living at Colorado's Wild Animal Sanctuary.

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, one of the lions, Nala, was reportedly so ill back in June that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (UDSA) "halted an inspection and ordered Lowe to provide her with immediate veterinary care."

The 'Tiger King' documentary certainly opened the public's eyes to exactly what goes on at these roadside zoos, but perhaps the most eye-opening information came from the follow-up episode, in which members of the documentary spoke with Joel McHale about what really went on in the park.

The man who was planning on creating a reality show from what he saw at the park, Rick Kirkham, told a story about how Exotic promised to take care of a woman's wounded horse, but then shot and killed the horse and fed it to the tigers. There have also been stories about the manager of the zoo, John Rinke, performing veterinary care without a license.

PETA says that they plan on suing Lowe for his mistreatment of the animals in the zoo.