Known for being upfront about what was happening and not mincing her delivery, fans might be wondering who exactly Saffery is and what has happened to her since the series ended.
Who exactly is Kelci Saffery?
Kelci Saffery was born in Hawaii. While enlisted in the Army, she was deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq, and lost her parents during her enlistment. Having a passion for tigers since she was a child, it made sense to end up working with them in her adult life, working at owner Joe Exotics park and caring for some of the larger cats.
Saffery hurt her hand while working for Exotic in 2013.
Saffery did end up getting damage from the tigers when she became complacent and attempted to stick her hand in the tiger cage in order to close the door in 2013. Because of this, a tiger hurt her hand, and , she was sent to the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City to get her hand looked at and cared for. She decided that the damage was too much and instead of going through of various reconstructive surgeries, she opted to amputate her arm and has since been hoping to receive a prosthetic one. She returned to the park and her job eleven days later.
Watch here for her full story:
Saffery didnt blame Exotic or the park for her injury.
In a statement to the in 2013, she expressed how she took full responsiblity for what happened to her. I broke protocol and stuck my hand in a cat cage instead of using the stick provided, the statement read. The cat let go and pushed my arm back through the cage. This tiger was not aggressive towards me.
Saffery is unhappy about the feud between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic .
During the last episode of the docuseries, Saffery expresses her disappointment with the way things have played out between Exotic and , an animal rights activist whose story plays a big role in the show. She voiced her opinion that the money that was used to fight each other in court could have been put to better uselike taking care of the animals in the zoo.
Saffery is still working at the Greater Wynwood Zoo.
On her page, Safferys profile indicates that she is still working as a Greater Wynwood Zoo park managers.
