SQUIDFRY 04.02.20: Lions and Tigers and Antles, Oh My

LIONS AND TIGERS AND ANTLES, OH MY… Like the rest of the world, Squid has lost track of the day of the week, wears the same Lululemon athleisure wear (duh, of course they make them for cephalopods) four days in a row and has become like a dog: food-motivated and dreaming of every meal hours in advance. (Speaking of, popcorn with a ton of melted butter and dried shrimp powder on top is gonna be this afternoon’s snack!) And since shelter-in-place means no dinner party invitations, Squid instead splays out on the sofa with Squid’s beloved bulldog,Rosco P. Coltrane, and binge-watches hours of streaming media.

Last week, Squid became hooked – hooked! – on Tiger King: Murder Mayhem and Madness – onNetflix. It’s a true-crime documentary series about the weird world of big cat conservationists and wild animal collectors. Tiger King focuses on the rise and spectacular fall of Joseph Maldonado-Passage (birth name Joseph Schreibvogel), also known as “Joe Exotic,” a wild animal owner and breeder who (checks notes) tries to have animal sanctuary owner Carole Baskin murdered. Twice. One of the hitmen Exotic hired turned out to be an undercover FBI agent and in April 2019, a federal jury found Exotic guilty of attempted murder-for-hire, and a slew of charges related to killing tigers and selling cubs.

But while watching and noshing, Squid noticed something weird. (OK, weirder, because this whole thing is weird.) In one scene, chronicling the exploits of another big cat breeder, that breeder is pictured in a farm field, wearing a Bud Antle produce hat.

That breeder is Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, or what happens when a hippie with a penchant for Eastern philosophy marries into one of the biggest produce families in the country, i.e., the Antles of Spreckels-based Tanimura & Antle. As a 2015 Rolling Stone story put it, Antle “was raised by a wealthy agricultural family on an industrial farm in Salinas.” Squid asked around and learned that “Doc” Antle is the first cousin of the late ag industry leader Rick Antle, and a grandson of Bud.

But Bhagavan Antle, who is based in North Carolina, isn’t the only weird local connection toTiger King. In the federal indictment lodged against Exotic, one charge alleged he lied on official documents by claiming cats he shipped were being donated for exhibition purposes only and were not being sold in interstate commerce. Exotic tried to hide the sale of two of those cats in 2016 – both 5-year-old female lions – by claiming he was donating them to the Monterey Zoo. So as Joe Exotic serves 22 years in federal prison (and even as rapper Cardi B. took to Twitter and vowed to seek his release), Squid and Rosco will continue serving time on the couch, waiting for life to return to somewhat normal.