Page 7 - IAV Digital Magazine #618

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Man Died of ‘Blunt Force
Injuries’ At US Zoo After
Suspected Kangaroo Fight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNRThj5I1Yo
Officials in South
Carolina are investigating the death of a man who was believed to have been killed while fighting a kan- garoo in an enclosure at a children’s petting zoo.
Eric Slate, 52, died of “mul- tiple blunt [force] injuries”, according to Tamara Willard, the chief deputy coroner of Horry county,
as reported by WPDE News.
Local officials said Slate, brother of 5 Star Farm’s owner, Robert Slate, liked to enter the enclosure con- taining kangaroos and wal- labies and “roughhouse”
with a kangaroo named Jack.
Mark Causey, a Horry council member, told Newsweek that the animal was not euthanized, and that inspectors would visit the farm this week to look at the enclosure and assess conditions at the zoo.
A tribute posted to Facebook on Monday by Robert Slate featured a series of photographs of a man identified as Eric engaging with a kangaroo of almost the same height. “Your memory will live on, your voice will be heard,
and Jack (your buddy, the kangaroo) will be fine,” he wrote.
“My brother, my friend, my rock, you left us with a smile on your face that won’t be forgotten.”
A statement from the Horry county police depart- ment, posted to Facebook, said Slate’s death hap- pened on Friday, close to midnight.
“The death investigation remains active and ongo- ing,” the statement said. “The deceased was locat- ed within an enclosure with wallabies and kangaroos of
varying ages.
“There are a number of other animals at the inci- dent location. All animals are accounted for and con- tained, and there is no risk to the community.”
A further statement from the farm’s owners stated that the kangaroo “was not nor has been out of his secure enclosure”, and that the family-owned facility “has been dedicated to providing a safe and enriching environment for animals and visitors alike”.
According to its website, the farm offers interactive animal experiences includ- ing a petting zoo, camel and pony rides, birthday parties and gem mining.
Fatal human-animal encounters are rare at pet- ting zoos in the US, but they are not entirely unheard of. In 2022, a camel was euthanized after escaping its enclosure at Shirley Farms in Obion county, Tennessee,
and fatally trampling two men.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine