Tiger King Zookeeper Erik Cowie Found Dead in NYC

Zookeeper Erik Cowie, who appeared in several episodes of Netflix’s docuseries Tiger King, was found dead inside a New York City residence. He was 52-years-old. Cowie appeared in the Netflix smash hit Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, which focused on big cat breeder Joe Exotic and his longtime feud with wildlife activist Carole Baskin.

E! Online reports that Cowie was found dead in the bedroom of an NYC residence. NYPD did not confirm his identity, as the authorities are waiting to identify him pending family notification. His cause of death has not been verified and will be determined by a medical examiner. It is unclear who owned the NYC residence or why Cowie was in the city. He was reportedly working as a cook at a local restaurant in Oklahoma after leaving Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.

Cowie previously was the head zookeeper at Exotic’s GW Zoo. Following Exotic’s 2019 arrest as part of a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin, Cowie was outspoken about his former boss’s treatment of the animals on the property. He accused Exotic, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, of shooting tigers to create more cage space at the facility. Since Exotic’s arrest, Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue was awarded control over his Wynnewood zoo in 2020. She sold the property with provisions that it could not be used as a zoo for the next 100 years.

Cowie said on Tiger King that he went to work at GW Zoo because he was “kind of at the end of [his] ropes.” While he didn’t have much experience working with large animals, he found a connection with the tigers and enjoyed working with them.

Source: E! Online

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