Carole Baskin bio: who is the woman behind big cat rescue?
If you have watched the Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness Netflix film, then you need no introduction to who Carole Baskin is. In the true-crime docuseries, she is the biggest rival of Joe Exotic, a fellow cat lover and zoo owner. She founded Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary and advocated for the end of interbreeding wild cats. Where is Carole Baskin now?
Source: Instagram
Carole had a long-running feud with Joe Exotic over the activities that took place in his park, The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. Her clashes with Joe Exotic sparked a conversation about the exploitation of wild animals and the possible murder of her husband, Don Lewis. Joe was charged with planning murder-for-hire against Carole.
Profile summary
- Name: Carole Baskin
- Birth name: Carole Stairs
- Date of birth: June 6, 1961
- Place of birth: San Antonio, United States
- Nationality: American
- Ethnicity: White
- Age: 58 years
- Horoscope: Gemini
- Parents: Vernon Charles Stairs (father), Mary Barbara Jean Norris Stairs (mother)
- Spouse: Mike Murdock (1978-1980) Jack Donald Lewis (1991-1997), Howard Baskin (2004-present)
- Children: Jamie Veronica Murdock
- Body measurements: 34-30-36 inches
- Bra cup size: 34 A
- Shoe size: 7 (US)
- Height: 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m)
- Weight: 56 kg (123 lbs)
- Hair color: Blonde
- Eye color: Blue
- Net worth: $20 million
- Profession: Animal rights activist, zookeeper
Background
Carole was born on June 6, 1961, and given the name Carole Stairs. Currently, she is 58 years old. Her birthplace was San Antonio, United States. Her nationality is American, while her ethnicity is white. Gemini is her birth sign.
Her parents, Vernon Charles Stairs and Mary Barbara Jean Norris Stairs were very poor, and they struggled to keep her in school. She was the only child.
Carole decided to run away from home when she was 15 years old. She did not want to be a burden to her family. After going for days without food and shelter, she got a job and rented an apartment.
Source: Instagram
Carole Baskin Big Cat Rescue
Carole founded Big Cat Rescue near Tampa, Florida, in 1992. The sanctuary houses animals like Caracal, Cheetah, Tigers, and Lions.
She temporarily closed Big Cat Rescue Florida due to the global pandemic of COVID-19.
Carole Baskin relationships
Carole was first married when she was seventeen years old. Her husband was Mike Murdock. She gave birth to a daughter named Jamie Veronica Murdock
She escaped from Mike, claiming that he was abusive. She then met Bob Martin, who later identified himself as Jack Donald Lewis.
The two bonded over the love for animals, and they quickly fell in love. Lewis divorced his wife and married Carole. Carole Baskin husband Don Lewis was older by twenty-two years.
They got married in 1991 and settled in Tampa, Florida. At the time, Carole was twenty years.
In August 1997, Lewis was reported missing and later declared dead. It was rumored that Baskin was the one who killed him. Two months before his disappearance, Lewis had filed a restraining order against Baskin, who reportedly threatened to kill him.
Lewis kids claimed that the motive behind the alleged murder was in order to inherit the assets of Lewis. One of Lewis’ kids told People,
It’s a perfect scenario to dispose of someone. We were upset that the cops didn’t test the DNA on the meat grinder.
The owner of Big Cat Rescue Carole Baskin claimed that even though they had tough moments with Don, she did not threaten him. She said that she assisted the police to locate him but to no avail.
Carole Baskin husband
The animal rights activist is currently married to Howard Baskin. They met in 2002 and got married after two years of dating. Howard is a management consultant.
The couple currently runs the wildlife sanctuary.
Source: Instagram
Joe Exotic Carole Baskin rivalry
Like Carole, Joseph Maldonado-Passage (né Schreibvogel) owned a private zoo that housed big cats. He was popularly known as Joe Exotic and was nicknamed The Tiger King.
The rivalry between Carole Baskin and Joe Schreibvogel had been going on for a while. Carole claimed that Joe Exotic was killing the animals in his private zoo. She added that Joe went against the Big Cat Public Safety Act by killing tigers and selling lion cubs and tiger cubs.
They both filed cases against each other. Joe hired a hitman to kill Carole and paid him $3000. It turned out that the hitman he hired was an FBI agent, and he was arrested.
Joe allegedly planned to murder Baskin after she won a multi-million dollar case against his park, ‘ The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.’
Joe Exotic was charged with planning murder-for-hire for Baskin and was convicted to 22 years in prison.
Where is Carole Baskin now?
The self-proclaimed animal rights activist became the subject of most after the Netflix film came out. It documented the tale of Joe Exotic, a private zoo owner who was convicted for trying to murder Carole Baskin.
Where is she now? On her Big Cat Rescue website, Carole expressed her gratitude that justice was served.
Source: Twitter
She also criticized the Netflix series and claimed that it was 'salacious and sensational'. Carole claimed that the producers lied about the nature of the series.
The Big Cat Rescue expressed their disappointment through an Instagram post that was captioned, ''Big Cat Rescue worked with the directors of Tiger King in good faith & its sensationalism is extremely disappointing.''
Carole Baskin net worth
The CEO of Big Cat Rescue Tampa Florida, has amassed a fortune of wealth from the sanctuary. She also inherited the assets of his husband, Donald Lewis. Her estimated net worth is $20 million.
Carole Baskin is an animal rights activist and founder of Big Cat Rescue. The sanctuary is currently home to over eighty lions, tigers, cougars, and other big cat species.
Source: Legit.ng
