One of the funniest pickup lines you’ve ever heard is probably “Do you want to pet my tiger”? In the past, Doc Antle used it on girls who were easy prey for him. By displaying his exotic animals to young girls, he persuaded them to visit his zoo and work for him. They were covered in dirt and forced to walk through a quagmire before they understood what they had agreed to.
Tiger King: The Story of Doc Antle
is a three-part documentary that examines the life of the contentious individual better known by his pen name Bhagwan Antle. His ex-wives, his coworkers, and other people who had some contact with him recount the horrors he endured and how they have been unable to forget them. Eric Goode and Rebecca Chalklin are the series’ directors.
The Connection Between Doc Antle & Swami Satchidananda
For obvious reasons, Doc Antle, who currently owns a safari in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, disagrees with the testimonies of the individuals in the documentary. But let’s consider what led Doc Antle to become the person he is today. Let’s try to comprehend his inspiration and driving forces.
The spiritual way of life greatly influenced American culture in the 1960s. Many spiritual gurus, like Osho and Satchidananda, established themselves in the west. India was a nation where people lacked the freedom to abandon their responsibilities and join a cult. Most folks were still working to meet their basic requirements. India was moving in another direction. Finding one’s spiritual self was never at the top of the list because the country as a whole was focused on expanding and prospering. Ironically, a religion designed to help people discover their spiritual selves also requires a lot of finance.
People didn’t obsess over Yoga and similar disciplines because they weren’t something new to them because they originated in India. They had lived a yogic lifestyle since the beginning of time and had always known about it. Therefore, in India, it would not have been able to seduce the general public into something like this. The west became fixated on it. This was a novel idea to them.
The climate in the US was such that various cults were able to flourish there. People from wealthy families like Doc Antle and less people worshipped spiritual leaders like Swami Satchidananda. There was also less population and more property available.
Mahamayavi Bhagavan Antle aspired to build his own version of Yogaville because he revered Satchidananda, the organization’s founder. He desired to lead a business in which he had complete authority. when everybody merely succumbed to him. when he had total control over a person’s life.
The Great Escape
So Doc Antle built his first zoo in Virginia, not far from Yogaville, and gave it the name Buckingham.
One of the fortunate individuals to escape Doc Antle’s grasp was Radha. She fled her home at the age of 14 in order to live with Doc and wed him. But she soon found that reality was very different from what she had envisioned. When Doc wasn’t on the premises, she attempted a daring getaway when she was 17 years old. But not everyone was successful in escaping.
Betsy Brahmi Rogers was Doc’s first wife, and she eventually understood that he had been having extramarital affairs with several women. There was no getting out once a girl stepped foot inside his establishment. Sumati Steinberg, who is also an ex-wife, was one of many individuals who suffered as a result of Doc’s activity. She suffered a great deal of mental anguish after becoming pregnant. Sumati, being the strong lady that she was, carried out the abortion despite Doc Antle making it apparent that he would want to see her abort the child.
The Propaganda
Sumati used to say that what Radha achieved was the height of bravery and that she had never thought she would be able to accomplish such a feat. It was difficult to get out of Buckingham Zoo’s confinement.
Every cult needs propaganda that claims to be superior in nature for it to succeed. According to Doc’s propaganda, operating a zoo was a kind deed. He regarded himself as an environmentalist. He spoke that with unbridled confidence. Doc tells the camera that since he was the leading advocate for animal rights, his intentions cannot be questioned without even batting an eye.
However, the workers had a different story to tell. The cubs frequently died, and they were frequently treated cruelly. He was a part of the illegal cat trade. In 2020, Doc Antle was accused of wildlife trafficking, a felony, and violating the endangered species act, a misdemeanour.
Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story Ending, Explained How Did Mark Die?
Antle wanted to present himself as this guru who knew what life was all about. That is how you force people to give up their reason and force them to completely submit to the dominant power. But his spin didn’t stick around for very long. People began to understand the truth. They were aware that he was a predator hiding in a monk’s garb. He promoted the idea of living in harmony with nature and spoke about issues that were much more important than the world’s materialistic concerns. However, he was making a lot of money from marijuana sales on the backside. The Buckingham Zoo experienced a huge cash inflow that went unreported.
Mark More than merely a worker, Richard Topping was an individual. He served as a better partner. He participated in the drug transactions Doc Antle was carrying out at the time. Between the two, things were not going well. Mark and Doc had various disagreements. When Sumati broke up with the Doc, he also asked her out on a date.
Comparatively speaking, Mark was a lot superior animal trainer than Doc Antle. While Doc was the type of person who thought there was no room for improvement in his methods, he wanted to study and apply the scientific ways and means of teaching a wild animal.
On a hike with Doc, Mark inexplicably fell down the cliff. Nobody was exactly sure what had happened. He and Doc had a contentious disagreement the day before he collapsed. Nobody ever learned the origin of the dispute. He had written a letter to his brothers in which he made it quite plain that Doc Antle is not a reliable individual. He was quite good at casually telling lies. A huge amount of money belonged to Doc as well, thanks to his dope deals with Mark.
Nobody will ever know for sure what happened on that terrible day, but everyone knows it wasn’t an accident. Everyone was certain that Doc Antle was somehow involved in the debacle.
Mark had informed his loved ones and friends that he would soon be leaving his position with Doc. He was unwilling to cave in because he witnessed how Doc Antle enjoyed taking advantage of his employees.
Doc was skilled at capitalising on people’s curiosity with exotic animals. Doc established a distinct universe where he was the unquestioned emperor, from making a movie about tiger cubs to professing to be an animal rights activist.
