Grosse Tete’s Tiger Truck Stop No Longer Housing Wild Animals

It's the end of an era...of sorts. The Tiger Truck Stop right off Interstate 10 in Grosse Tete is officially animal-free.

Of course, this is the truck stop that infamously housed a 550-pound Bengal tiger from 2001 until it was euthanized in 2017 due to age-related health issues.

Oh, it's also the truck stop that drew national attention last year when a Florida woman bit a camel's testicles when it sat on her.

The reason why the business is no longer housing exotic animals? New owners.

The truck stop's former owner Michael Sandlin sold the business in June and retired.

"When Tony passed and there was no longer a tiger living in Grosse Tete, I pretty much partially retired then," Sandlin told the Baton Rouge Advocate. "My heart wasn't in it."

The zoo area at the truck stop that housed animals including a kangaroo, camel, goats, a coati (Central American raccoon relative) and others, has been removed. Some of the animals were moved to Sandlin's home near the truck stop while the camel and kangaroo were taken to the Alexandria Zoological Zoo.

New owner James Jarreau says he didn't keep the animals because it's costly to maintain and time-consuming. With no experience in caring for these animals, he and his partner decided to discontinue animal attractions.

They do plan to make some updates to the facility including renovating the showers and other areas along with building a casino.

"It'll be something we really don't have out here," Jarreau said.