Yahoo News What happened to the Tiger King's animals? Is Joe Exotic's park still running?
Netflix's Tiger King is the latest in a long line of real life documentaries from the streaming service which has viewers gripped.
The new series focuses on the charismatic manager of an exotic animal park known as Joe Exotic, who is currently serving 22 years in prison after he shot dead five tigers, falsified paperwork, sold baby lemurs and attempted to kill a rival by hiring a $3,000 hit man.
Indeed, the show has been a huge hit for the streaming giant, with viewers left open mouthed in amazement at the larger-than-life true story of the mulleted, gun-toting Exotic, the animal park he ran and his rivalry with Carole Baskin, along with the hundreds of exotic animals he kept at the park.
But those who have watched the series have been left with one question - what happened to the animals after Exotic's arrest? Here's all you need to know.
What happened to the animals?
The park is still in operation and is being run by Exotic's former business partner, Jeff Lowe, who has renamed the park the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.
However, according to Entertainment Weekly, the park is struggling financially. The filmmakers told the website: "I got a very long text today from Jeff Lowes, who is running Joe’s old zoo. All I can tell you is that he is basically operating on fumes.
"No one is going now and there’s no source of income, and that's been going on for a long time. It's not something that has just happened because of what's happening in the world today."
According to reports, Lowe plans to close the park in Wynnewood and there is talk he could move some of the animals to a new facility near Thackerville called The Oklahoma Zoo, which expects to open this spring.
In 2019, a reporter from Texas Monthly visited the zoo after Exotic was convicted, and spoke of how he was the only guest there.
According to the zoo's website, customers can still take part in animal encounters such as 'tiger cub playtime', an 'endangered tour' and a 'rainforest nursery'.
It has since been reported that zoo bosses took to Facebook to say that they had spent "thousands" on medical treatment and food for the animals since they had taken over, and challenged "anyone to find a mistreated or neglected animal here",
According to reports, the post added: "We are one of the few zoo owners in America with a spotless USDA history."
Tiger King is available to stream on Netflix now
Read more
Who is Joe Exotic? The dark past of the former manager of Oklahoma zoo
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Who is Carole Baskin? Meet Joe Exotic's rival in Netflix's Tiger King
