Following the news that one of Tiger King‘s zookeepers and Netflix star Erik Cowie has been found dead aged 52, people are wondering where Joe Exotic is now.
Exotic was convicted of a series of animal welfare offenses as well as conspiracy to kill the owner of a big cat sanctuary who attempted to expose him.
What is the story of Tiger King?
Tiger King is a true Netflix crime series about Joe Maldonado-Passage, nicknamed Joe Exotic, the gun owner of GW Zoo, an exotic wild animal zoo in Oklahoma.
Exotic has been accused of abusing and exploiting wildlife by the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a Florida-based sanctuary that advocates for an end to cruelty to captive big cats, Carole Baskin.
The Netflix series primarily follows the bitter and years-long feud between Baskin and Exotic and the eventual conviction of Exotic for hiring a hitman to kill Baskin.
Where’s Joe Exotic now? Is Tiger King still in prison?
Joe Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a range of offenses including murder for an account, abuse, and exploitation of animals, as well as violating the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Law.
Exotic was incarcerated in January 2020, therefore he is still in prison despite serving less than two years of his sentence.
If he serves his full sentence in prison, he will be released in 2042 and will be 80 years old.
What happened to Carole Baskin?
Carole Baskin continues to manage Big Cat Rescue, which she created with her husband, Don Lewis, who left his wife and children to marry Baskin in 1991.
Baskin remarried in 2004 to her current husband, Howard Baskin, and she has one child.
Baskin now also owns Joe Exotic’s Zoo and is enjoying his newfound fame following the success of the Netflix documentary. In 2020, she entered the American Dancing With the Stars talent competition.
