SC kangaroo owner said brother loved the animal. What happened the night he was found dead
Jack, a red kangaroo, had only been at 5 Star Farm for two weeks, but Eric Slate had already bonded with the marsupial.
Eric Slate would often go into the enclosure to feed the animal, give it treats and interact with the 4-year-old kangaroo, said Robert Slate, his brother and owner of the Loris farm. Eric was familiar with Jack, and the animal would often come up to Eric for a treat and would mimic the man’s actions, such as scratching his belly.
It’s why it was such a shock when Robert Slate came home Friday to find the 52-year-old dead inside the pen that held Jack, as well as two other kangaroos and a wallaby.
The family is waiting autopsy results from the Horry County Coroner’s Office to determine how Eric Slate died.
The coroner’s office said that Eric had multiple blunt injuries to his body. Slate could see injuries on Eric’s arm and leg. He was told by the coroner that there were also injuries on his chest and under his clothes.
Robert Slate denied Monday rumors that his brother “roughhoused” with the animal. He wants people to know the facts about that night and that Eric loved working with the animals.
“As an animal lover, he would not have done that, and I would not have allowed that,” Slate said.
What happened that night
Robert Slate was at an event Friday evening. When he came home about 10:55 p.m., Slate could see that the garage door was open and the Gator utility vehicle was beside the gate to the animal enclosure.
As Slate’s vehicle lights shown on the enclosure, “I could see something on the ground,” he said.
Eric, the older of the two men, was found up against the fence on the other side of the kangaroo enclosure, Slate said.
It’s unclear how long he had been in the enclosure, but he had left his mother’s house a little after 8 p.m., Slate said.
His brother would feed the farm’s animals, which include not only the kangaroos, but a wallaby, camel, zebra, goats, cows and emus, about 7:30 p.m. every night. “He had a routine,” Slate said.
When Slate found him, Eric had a “smile on his face,” he said.
Slate believes Eric had health issues, which may have contributed to his death. He had been complaining of not feeling well earlier in the week, Slate said. Slate admits that his brother did drink, and there was a beer on the utility vehicle when Eric was found.
However, Slate said he doesn’t believe his brother was fighting for his life as Eric was a big man, standing at about 6 foot 3 inches tall, while Jack is only about 4 foot tall while sitting on his tail.
“We’re never really going to know,” he said about how Eric died.
Right now, Jack is quarantined for 45 days. The farm, which opened last year but has been doing events with the animals since 2008, has not yet opened for the season. “I need to do what’s best for Jack, but also for my brother,” Slate said.
“Ultimately it’s a tragic loss,” Slate said, wiping away a tear. “I feel in my heart he was doing what he wanted to do. Nobody can take that away from me.”
