Tiger King's Erik Cowie Found Dead in NYC

Zookeeper Erik Cowie, who appeared in Netflix's Tiger King, has passed away at the age of 52.

By Jess Cohen Sep 07, 2021 5:33 PMTags
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Erik Cowie, a zookeeper who appeared in several episodes of Netflix's Tiger King docuseries, has died.

According to TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, Cowie was found dead inside a New York City residence on Friday, Sept. 3. While the NYPD did not confirm the man's identity, authorities did tell E! News, "Upon arrival, police discovered a 52-year-old male unconscious in the bedroom of the location. EMS was on scene and pronounced the male deceased."

His cause of death has not been confirmed and will later be determined by a medical examiner. The NYPD also notes, "The identification of the deceased is pending family notification."

Cowie, who previously worked as the head zookeeper for Tiger King's Joe Exotic, made headlines over the years for his comments about his former boss. The reality star even testified against Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, after he was accused by prosecutors of shooting tigers.

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"I knew what was going on. I'm [not] stupid," the Oklahoma native told local reporters in 2019. "I knew cats were getting shot."

"Cage space. We needed three cages. He wiped out five cats," Cowie alleged. "He came up [with] a 4-10 in his hand and I knew he just shot Cuddles. I heard it, and he comes up the hill and goes...Erik. If I knew it was going to be this easy to just walk right up the cage, I was just going to kill them all."

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After leaving the zoo, Cowie reportedly went on to work as a cook at a local restaurant. 

"I'm kind of embarrassed to say it, but when I got here, I was on kind of the end of my ropes," Cowie said on Netflix's Tiger King about working at the zoo. "I found this place on Craigslist and I was like, 'Man! I've never done this s--t before. What the f--k? Let's go!'"

"And look at me now," he said. "I'm doing tiger shows."