Surviving Joe Exotic

Most people have heard of Joe Exotic or if not are at least aware of the Netflix show, Tiger King, Murder, Mayhem, and Madness that aired this year.

Unfortunately, instead of showing the constant abuse of the animals in his care, it sensationalized Joe's life and all the chaos surrounding him.

We were approached a few months ago by Animal Planet and asked if we would be willing to talk about Chobe and Kariba, two lionesses that were born at Joe Exotic's place that we now care for. Together with Matthew Simmons of LARC, Dr. Rebecca Richard (formally Wildlife Waystation Veterinarian) and Bill Nimmo and Kizmin Reeves of Tigers in America we were able to take in the lionesses in the summer of 2019.

At first, we worried that this was going to be another sensationalized TV version giving more screen time to Joe, but they ensured us that this was going to be about the animals that survived and managed to escape the abuse and cruelty and to tell their happily ever after. We are thrilled with the end result and hope you'll watch the show to see their story.

(A big thank you to Ian Ford and Caryn DeFrees for their excellent work in the film)