TV show on lions, tigers features locals

Program looks at private ownership of big cats

Pahrump made national television last Sunday night as part of a program on the MSNBC network show "National Geographic Explorer," which aired a program titled, "Big Cat Crisis." It focused on ownership of tigers and lions as pets.

"Is there a tiger in your back yard?" the TV special began.

In the first few minutes, alert viewers could catch a quick shot of Brian Turner, who owns cougars in the north end of the Pahrump Valley, as well as brief comments from Pahrump residents Jeanie Stevenson and Zuzana, who own big cats in the valley. Zuzana, who wants to be identified by her first name, says briefly on TV that she would only live where she can keep her animals.

Turner remarks, "Bonding moments with the power of nature, it's almost impossible to describe."

There was a shot of the blue Pahrump sign, with the announcer saying, "Welcome to Pahrump, Nevada, meeting place for one of the largest exotic animal owner groups in the nation."

There was a quick scene of members of the Phoenix Exotic Animal Owners Association meeting last February at the Pahrump Community Library.

The commentator remarked, more and more Americans are buying tigers and lions as pets. Much of the program focused on owners of big cats who had problems with their neighbors. The Pahrump segment, however, showed big-cat owners in a more positive light. Stevenson, a Pahrump resident for 23 years, was shown riding a lion. In the show it was mentioned Stevenson has owned tigers and lions for 25 years. The production crew described her home as a "mini-museum."

"We love these animals like they're our children, and I don't see anything wrong with that," Stevenson tells the TV interviewer. "I think it's providing a good home for my animals and they need that."

Stevenson said the film crew was invited back after the taping of the Phoenix Exotic Animal Owners meeting in February. The camera crew made a special trip to Pahrump to film Turner, Zuzana and herself, she said. Stevenson said they filmed at her place for a couple of hours at the end of May.

"It was pretty much what we thought it was going to be. It had basically been filmed about a rescue," Stevenson said when asked her thoughts of the show. "We asked them to film us because we wanted to show a positive side of ownership."

"They did a really good job of portraying it all," Stevenson said. "They didn't portray us badly. We can't complain about that."

"We were a little nervous about it, knowing the subject matter was negative," Stevenson said. But she said, they consented to the filming because they had nothing to hide.

The television show may be rebroadcast, but Stevenson said the brief clip of her riding the lion won't be on the next transmission, that scene had been sold to the show "Real TV."


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