Here's What Everyone From Tiger King Season 1 Is Up to Now

You’ll recall that at the end of Tiger King season one, we learn Joe Exotic, aka Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of hiring someone to kill his rival big-cat owner Carole Baskin, as well as charges on animal-abuse crimes. However, in July, the court shortened his sentence to 17 years, saying the original case was mishandled, according to USA Today. He requested a presidential pardon, but alas, he’s still in prison. Since he was sentenced to prison in January 2020, he will probably stay there until around 2037.

Carole Baskin remains the head of Big Cat Rescue in Florida. After Tiger King, she appeared on season 29 of Dancing With the Stars, but was eliminated in the third week of the competition. She’s been outspoken about Netflix’s show since it aired, writing a post on her blog about how “disappointing” the show was, calling it “salacious and sensational” – especially its portrayal of the disappearance of her previous husband, Don Lewis. And speaking of that, thanks to the show, Lewis’s family have teamed up with a well-respected lawyer to look into Lewis’s disappearance, according to TMZ.

Howard Baskin is still faithfully by his wife’s side, defending her in the whole Tiger King mess and helping her run Big Cat Rescue. He serves on the organisation’s audit committee now that he’s moved away from the corporate-management consulting that he used to do.

Doc Antle, who runs The Institute of the Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGERS) in Myrtle Beach, SC, was slapped with search warrants for questionable lion cubs in late 2019, according to Vanity Fair. Still, he defended himself to the outlet just a few months later. “No one’s ever had a program as effective as we have, as long as we’ve had, and as carefully produced over the years,” he said. Per CNET, Antle was indicted on animal-trafficking charges in late 2020, but waived his right to appear in court in early 2021. The case is now scheduled for July 2022, according to The Sun News.

In August 2021, Jeff and Lauren Lowe agreed to surrender the remaining animals at Tiger King Park. According to local Oklahoma news outlet KXII, the Department of Justice said the couple “abandoned their right, title, and interest in the animals remaining at the Tiger King park.” The news outlet also reported that the couple said in May that they planned to take over another park.

Two weeks after their animal park was raided in May 2021, Lauren and Jeff Lowe were arrested for DUIs in June. In August that year, they cooperated with the authorities by surrendering the animals they had left at Tiger King Park.

It was announced in February 2021 that Mario Tabraue’s life would be made into a limited series, according to Deadline. The former drug trafficker and owner of the Zoological Wildlife Foundation made an impact in Tiger King because of his history in the drug world and current penchant for exotic animals.

Zookeeper Erik Cowie died in September 2021 from acute and chronic alcohol abuse, according to Deadline. Before his death, he was head zookeeper of Joe Exotic’s zoo and had been there for five years.