The former zoo owned by Tiger King subject Joe Exotic was thrust back into the headlines this week after reports of human remains discovered on the grounds. The initial report from TMZ notes that dogs had sniffed out the potential corpses near the park’s alligator pit. Authorities later debunked this but one man still believes the zoo has dark secrets.
Jeff Lowe, the current owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma and fellow subject in the Netflix hit show, feels like there is more hidden in the park. After authorities from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Garvin County Sheriff’s deputies had debunked the initial report, Lowe talked to KOCO News 5 to say he believes more remains could be found.
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According to Lowe, he feels that a storm threw cadaver dogs off and led to the “finding” and alerting investigators to something they found. Police discovered no evidence, but Lowe remains adamant. Sheriff Jim Mullett gave the police perspective on the situation while speaking with KOCO 5 himself, noting an episode of Ghost Adventures was being produced at the zoo.
“They were doing a production of Ghost Adventures,” Mullett said. “The cadaver dogs hit on a small alligator pond that is no longer being used. They claim they hit on what they believe to be human remains.”
After this discovery, the OSBI and Sheriff started their investigation and spent five hours searching the property before wrapping up with no human remains discovered. Mullett said despite this, the situation went as it should.
“We take it serious,” Mullett said. “We took our time and we looked around; looked in the pond and dug down.”
Lowe’s feeling that there are human remains somewhere on the premises doesn’t seem too far fetched, given other recent news about the park. Past visitors have painted a grim picture of the park and the animals within.
“It’s pretty desolate and as you can see in one of my photos, they had a little pond but it was totally dried up and there was no water in it,” visitor Will Mayo said talking with Insider. “Everything just looked shriveled and dry and not taken care of.”
Mayo described a fox that “just looked so sad and so drained and so tired” leaning against a fence “because it almost seemed like it didn’t even have the energy to walk around.” Lowe’s wife refuted these observations, adding that they face regular inspections by the USDA and Oklahoma Fish and Wildlife. She was also quick to blame incarcerated former owner Joe Exotic for using small cages and that Lowe was working toward creating larger enclosures.
The park is also facing allegations of animal mistreatment, with Mullett confirming his office received “numerous calls regarding the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park and the welfare of the animals.”
