He passed away earlier this year.

Tiger King star Jeff Johnson has passed away, according to reports. The reptile dealer, who appeared in season one of the Netflix documentary series, passed away earlier this year. According to TMZ, Johnson died by suicide in September, aged 58. Johnson was one of many experts who appeared on the series to discuss the exotic animal industry, Joe Exotic, and his zoo. He was reportedly close with Exotic before Jeff Lowe became a significant player in the businessman's life. Carole Baskin has shared her sympathies with Johnson's loved ones today telling The Sun: "My heart goes out to his family." Johnson's death comes a few days following the release of Tiger King 2. The new series has received poor reviews from critics and viewers with many outlets dubbing it a "failure." Earlier this year zookeeper Erik Cowie, who also appeared in the show's first season, also passed away. Cowie worked as an animal caretaker at Exotic's zoo, where he was largely considered the head of the big cats. When Exotic was jailed for a conspiracy to murder Carole Baskin as well as several animal abuse charges, Cowie continued to work at the site. Exotic remains the star of the show's second season, and is currently serving 22 years in prison. He recently shared that he is living with an aggressive" form of prostate cancer. If you need to talk to someone, you can call the Samaritans at 116 123 or email jo@samartians.org.