“Tiger King” star Carole Baskin, in her first “authorized” comments since the popular Netflix series debuted, announced Thursday she had launched a new virtual reality game where players track tigers in the wild.
The free “Big Cat Rescue VR Tiger Game” hit the Oculus store on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. PT. Baskin, in a press release, said Big Cat Rescue has been working with developer Xennial Digital since February on the game. And the reason she wanted to launch a VR game so badly? Baskin said it’s clear most people “don’t understand that breeding tigers is causing their extinction in the wild, not preventing it” — leading her to want to “educate” more people on the topic.
“It’s a fully immersive game that takes the player on a journey where they learn how to track a tiger in the wild,” Baskin said. “Along the way they learn about the plight of the tiger in the wild and how the lucrative cub petting industry is fueling the demand for poached wild tigers. In the end the user is empowered with the knowledge and resources to bring the tiger back from the edge of extinction.”
Baskin hasn’t talked much since “Tiger King” debuted in March, although she did accidentally give an interview to two YouTubers posing as Jimmy Fallon last month.
Her game announcement said she “can appreciate that you may have more questions about my take on ‘Tiger King,’ but I am still not giving interviews at this time.”
Baskin was in the news earlier this month when Florida law enforcement confirmed the will of Don Lewis, Baskin’s missing late husband, was forged.
Baskin responded to the findings with the following statement to TheWrap: “I don’t have any comments other than what is posted at BigCatRescue.org/netflix where you will find that all of the documents were authenticated by at least two expert firms and everyone involved in the conservatorship agreed by stipulation ratified by the court to their authenticity.”
Lewis has been missing since 1997, and Baskin has assumed his estate, which has been valued to be worth an estimated $10 million, according to Fox News. Lewi’s family was cut out of the will, and though his body was never found, he was considered legally dead in 2002.
In the third episode of “Tiger King,” Joe Exotic accuses Baskin of killing Lewis and feeding his body to the big cats at her wildlife rescue in Tampa. Baskin has previously denied having any involvement in her husband’s death. Soon after the series rose to popularity — and more viewers started to ask questions about the mysterious disappearance of Lewis — Florida law officials reopened the case and began seeking new information regarding Lewis’ disappearance.