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A head zookeeper who worked for 'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic was found dead, reports say

Some of the enclosures for the tigers were larger than others at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park on February 9, 2019.
Some of the enclosures for the tigers were larger than others at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park on February 9, 2019. Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

  • Erik Cowie, one of the zookeepers featured in the Netflix documentary series "Tiger King," has died. 
  • Police told NBC New York that he was found dead in an apartment in Brooklyn. 
  • A police source told New York Daily News that no foul play is expected in his death. 
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Erik Cowie, one of the zookeepers featured in the Netflix documentary series "Tiger King," has been found dead inside a Brooklyn apartment, police told NBC New York.

Police sources told TMZ that a friend found Cowie unconscious and face down in the bedroom of an apartment. It remains unclear if the apartment was Cowie's or someone else's. 

Officials pronounced him dead at the scene in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood, police told NBC New York.

A police source told New York Daily News that no foul play is expected, and Cowie likely died of natural causes.

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Cowie was one of the zookeepers at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma owned by Joe Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

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