Ste. Genevieve sanctuary rescues Tiger King tiger

Ste. Genevieve's Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary now houses a star-adjacent tiger.

After a raid of Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, last month, one of the rescued big cats is at the sanctuary. The park became famous last year because of the hit Netflix docuseries "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness."

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seized 68 large cats, including one jaguar, from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe's Tiger King Park according to a release from the DOJ.

Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary transported one male tiger from Oklahoma to its facility in Ste. Genevieve, according to a release.

The Lowes, who appeared on the docuseries, faced three inspections by the U.S. Departmento of Agriculture since December. The inspections found the Lowes failed to provide the cats with "timely veterinary care, appropriate nutrition, and shelter from inclement weather sufficient in size to allow them to engage in normal behavior."

In January, the government seized 14 big cats from the park. Some were underweight, had worms or suffered lesions on the pads of their paws, according to a federal affidavit.

Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary worked with several other accredited sanctuaries across the nation to perform a large-scale rescue of the big cats.

"Every time we get to help or do a rescue, it's always a good feeling to help give those cats a better life," said John Madigan, Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary's operations manager.

The rescued male tiger is quarantined as it's treated by Crown Ridge Sanctuary's staff and veterinary team.

Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary is the only Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries verified tiger sanctuary in Missouri. It does not buy, sell or breed any of its animals. The sanctuary now houses four tigers.

Crown Ridge offers tours, but the Tiger King tiger will not be shown for some time, Madigan said.

"Tiger King" followed former zookeeper Joseph Maldonado-Passage -- "Joe Exotic" -- as he operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma.

Jeff Lowe took over Exotic's zoo after Exotic faced financial hurdles involving lawsuits from Carole Baskin, a rival animal sanctuary operator in Florida. Exotic has spent the last two years in prison for plotting a murder-for-hire scheme against Baskin and violating animal rights laws.

Madigan did not watch the series but hopes the rescue will raise more awareness about big cat care.

"Hopefully, this will get people to come out and visit the cats and learn about the issues they face in captivity," Madigan said. "We will continue to work to end any abuse and neglect."