General information regarding the captive big cat crisis in the United States appears not to have been updated in almost two decades. Much of what is reported portrays the crisis as still being as dire as at the end of the 1990s. Updating our understanding of current captive big cat populations within the country is crucial to informing accurate and effective advocacy and legislation.

The idea that there might be tens of thousands of hidden or secret big cats kept as pets in the United states does not appear to be based in publicly available data, and what data does exist indicates a much smaller population is more plausible.

A close examination of the data regarding captive tiger populations in the United States suggests it is highly unlikely pet tiger populations are as large as commonly thought.

Any time a dangerous wild animal is kept in a captive setting, there is an associated safety risk. Studying historical statistics and trends related to keeping big cats in human care can inform future risk management decisions.

While the media frequently references populations of 10,000 tigers in the Unites States, these population claims have been inflated by a lack of accurate sources.