KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Carole Baskin, an activist for big cats, sat down and binge-watched “Tiger King” on Netflix just like everybody else. The end product, which she believed would resemble a “Blackfish” for tigers, had almost nothing to do with saving big cats, she said - a real “missed opportunity” for the film that made her famous.
Roughly 34 million people watched “Tiger King” in the first 10 days it was available, according to Nielsen. Many more watched after that.
But if “Tiger King” viewers instead focused their attention on “The Hidden Tiger,” an upcoming documentary from Knoxville director Michael Samtesto, the impact would be “Earth changing,” she told Knox News.
Samtesto called upon Baskin to share her expertise for the film, which explores the impact tiger captivity has on cats in cages and wild tiger populations
“The Hidden Tiger,” which is scheduled to come out Dec. 26, has been in the works for more than five years. And it all started just up the road from Knoxville at Roane County’s Tiger Haven.
“The story just kind of continued to expand and unfold for us,” Samtesto told Knox News - all the way to India and Nepal.
AN INTEREST IN CATS STARTED WITH DOGS
Through Rescue Doc Films, founded alongside Knoxville producer Josh Gildrie, Samtesto had already told the story of rescuing dogs with the documentary “A Southern Fix.”
The production company shared the reality of companion animals killed in the United States and focused on exploring answers for the devastating problem.
“And we thought the rescue world was pretty interesting,” Samtesto said.
Tiger Haven welcomed him with open arms as he shifted his focus from dogs to tigers, offering behind-the-scenes access to the self-proclaimed “safe place for big cats” in Roane County.
The crew started filming at the facility roughly four years ago, and the story grew and grew.
A REVELATORY FULM VS. A MURDER EXPOSE
Samtesto recorded all over the world, not knowing Netflix was preparing to release an explosive pop-culture sensation in “Tiger King.”
“We were exposing some things that just haven’t been talked about very much,” Samtesto said. “And we’re not in the mainstream media at all. We thought we had a pretty good scoop at the time and, honestly, we still do.”
Samtesto said places in the United States that offer selfies with baby tigers can only use the cubs for so long. When their window is up, where do they go?
A news release for “The Hidden Tiger” shared some of the film’s most revelatory highlights:
- As many as 10,000 captive tigers are living in the United States.
- Fewer than 4,000 tigers live in the wild.
- A tiger can be purchased for less than a purebred dog in parts of the United States.
- Tigers are part of a nearly $8 billion black-market trade in wildlife parts.
- Global conservation efforts are burdened by fake conservation efforts in the United States.
Contrast these revelations with “Tiger King,” Samtesto said, and it’s clear the Netflix film is more of a “murder exposé” than a film with the “tigers’ best interest in mind.”
Baskin feels the same, calling the Netflix film “salacious” and “outlandish.”
‘INSPIRING’ TIGERS IN ‘BEAUTIFUL’ FILM
Baskin and her husband, Howard, were the ones who helped Samtesto begin understanding the scale of how captive tigers impact wild populations.
That’s what led him to seek out tigers in the wild for the film.
“When you’re a filmmaker and you have a camera in your hand, you have something to do,” he said. “So it’s probably not as terrifying as it might be. … Basically, every time you see a tiger, it just takes your breath away. You are really moved by the experience.”
The experience was “inspiring,” he said, and Samtesto hopes his film can inspire people to make a difference.
“I think one of the most beautiful things that ‘Hidden Tiger’ does is it so sharply contrasts the difference between what the life of a tiger in the wild is like, versus the life of a captive tiger pacing endlessly in a tiny cage,” Baskin said.
Many nature documentaries are just music and a voiceover, Samtesto said: “The beautiful, ‘Watch the majestic tiger.’”
But he assures “The Hidden Tiger” is different. By speaking with experts, Baskin said, the film will help viewers walk away understanding the “magnificence” of tigers and the negative impacts of captivity.
“That is not conservation, that is not education, that is not going to save our planet,” Baskin said about captive tigers. “Saving them in the wild will. And I think ‘Hidden Tiger’ does a very good job of illustrating that.”
WANT TO SEE CHANGE? SEE THE FILM
Even though Baskin has tigers in cages at Big Cat Rescue, she’s anxiously awaiting the day she goes out of business.
Baskin has been working to ban private ownership of big cats through the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which passed through the U.S. House last week. Senators, who must now pass the bill for it to become law, can be reached through bigcatact.com.
Baskin and Samtesto agree people also can help tigers by not visiting places offering selfies with animals.
“If their business model is breeding wild animals for life in cages, I don’t care what kind of lipstick they put on that pig, it is not doing any kind of good for conservation, and they just need to not give their money to those kinds of things,” Baskin said.
But one of the easiest ways people can help is by watching Samtesto’s film, scheduled to release Dec. 26 on thehiddentiger.com.
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